The final numbers of TIFF's economic impact on the City of Toronto for 2013 have yet to be released, but a news report that aired on CityTV reports that the festival generates anywhere from $130- to $170-million in revenue each year.
"It's one of the busiest times of the year," says Raffaele Bettalico, the owner of Zaza Espresso Bar in Yorkville, in the video. His business triples during TIFF, which wrapped its 11-day stint on Sunday.
When you think of the impact, Peter Finestone, the film commissioner for the City of Toronto, says in the video, you need to think of its reach. This includes the restaurants rented for after parties, the limousine services, the increase in restaurant and bar traffic, money to buskers, hairdressers, bartenders, and so much more.
"It's not just the stars spending money, out of town visitors alone spend $27-million," the report says.
Not mentioned in the report is the amount of press TIFF generates, making it tough to track down stories for this week's In The News section that weren't about the glitz and glamour of the world's largest open to the general public film festival.
Original source: CityTV