Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

• the key infrastructure and operational processes required to improve the broad
management capacity of the Carnival; and
• the development of a distinctive Notting Hill Carnival ‘brand’ and identification of the
values associated with that brand.
4.44 The study involved conducting face-to-face, telephone, postal surveys and semi-structured
interviews with: 944 visitors to Carnival 2002; 65 ‘fixed’ businesses in and around the Carnival
area; 250 licensed Carnival stallholders and traders; 12 Carnival bands and performers; and key
Carnival stakeholders such as the police and the local authorities.
4.45 The visitor surveys revealed that respondents felt that attending the Notting Hill Carnival
influenced their spending patterns throughout the rest of the year. 52 per cent of
respondents said that they were likely to buy more Caribbean food items and products
launched at the Carnival as a result of their attendance at the event. 29 per cent of these
positive responses came from white British/Irish attendees, providing a strong indication of
the Carnival’s potential as a vehicle for promoting Caribbean products to a diverse market. Of
the 65 ‘fixed’ businesses surveyed, 23 were closed over the Sunday and Monday period. Over
half of these would normally have been open, suggesting that whilst there was some loss of
trade for some businesses that had to close, this was not as large as might have been
expected and was probably outweighed by the increase in trade for those businesses that
stayed open over the Carnival weekend. In addition, one third of the food retailers and
newsagents surveyed who were closed over the Carnival period experienced increased sales in
the four weeks before Carnival. By far the majority of businesses (98 per cent) that were open
on the Carnival weekend experienced higher sales than a normal Saturday to Monday period
with over a quarter estimating a 50 per cent increase and 5 per cent more than doubling their
trade.
4.46 Based on the visitor survey, the LDA study found that the average spend per person, together
with estimates of the number of attendees provided an overall visitor spend at Carnival 2002
of £36 million with a further £9 million being spent on accommodation. Spend on the
infrastructure of the Carnival including grants given to the Carnival organiser and the Carnival
bands totalled at least £2 million. To these ‘direct’ economic impacts were added the
‘indirect’ and ‘induced’ economic impacts – ‘indirect’ impacts resulting from businesses that
received income, spending some of this on goods and services from their suppliers. ‘Induced’
impacts arising from the employees of businesses, traders, Carnival groups etc spending some
of their income on goods and services from other businesses – producing an overall estimate
of the Carnival economic impact for the 2002 event of £93 million. Whilst this figure clearly
dwarfs the estimated £6-£10 million costs of the Carnival, it also raises the critical question of
how this income can be properly harnessed to benefit the Carnival community and local
residents.
4.47 The study identified a number of areas in which the Carnival’s economic and social impact
could be improved: better leveraging and co-ordination of public investment, including
improved marketing of the Carnival as part of London’s ‘offering’ to both residents and
visitors; more effective levering of private investment and sponsorship, supported by more
effective marketing and improved accommodation provision and other tourism services; the
need to build upon the skills and business development potential of the Carnival; balancing
spontaneity with better management of the Carnival ‘brand’, thereby ensuring that a greater
proportion of the income generated would be drawn into the communities involved in
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