Correction issued below:
ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) – A new report has been released on the economic impact the Roswell UFO Festival brought to the City of Roswell. In total, the festival brought an estimated economic impact of $2.19 million.
The City of Roswell spent $212,638.13 on the festival. Many local businesses said they have felt the impact of the festival. “We survive off of tourism, and this year was no exception,” said Robert Johnston, a manager with Peppers Bar & Grill in Roswell.
The report shows that 52% of revenue was spent on food and drinks. Restaurants like Peppers Bar & Grill said that the festival usually brings in the most cash flow, but it’s not all bright. Restaurants explained they saw fewer customers because of inflation.
“The actual numbers of that week, basically, we were down about 21% for the same week from their previous year of 2021,” said Johnston, “So, I mean, as customer counts, I mean, our counts were almost the same. But as in sales, they weren’t quite as big as a year before.”
Hotels are still seeing high profits. The festival brought in $767,957.97 with people spending the night. Ticket sales brought in just over $94,138.50. Peppers hopes the revenue from the festival only continues to sky-rocket.
“The UFO festival does bring in a lot of tourism, and we hope that both Roswell and the state of New Mexico continue to welcome people into our communities and help boost our economy to get through tough times,” said Johnston.
The next UFO Festival is scheduled for June 30 through July 2, 2023, a day shorter than this year’s festival.
Correction: In a previous version of this story, KRQE reported that the festival brought in $2.19 million from the four-day festival. That is incorrect. Instead, the festival brought an estimated economic impact of $2.19 million.
