Economic Effects of Mardi Gras
Written by: Nick K.
Mardi Gras is a celebration before the fasting of Lent. It is celebrated for 12 days. This years main day of celebration is on Febuary, 28th. It is a christian celebration however it is not only celebrated for religion purposes. Although it is not a true American holiday or listed as one of our nation's holidays many deeply rooted french cities take pride in Mardi Gras and celebrate it every year.
It has significance all across the world; however the one city it is most known in is New Orleans. The effect of the celebration on New Orleans is huge. Due to the scarce amount of celebrations in the U.S. New orleans attracts nearly 1.5 million people a year. Last year alone 3.5 times New Orleans populations was at the festivities. New Orleans spends on average 3.33 million dollars a year. They see a return on the investment of 4.5 dollars per dollar they spend. The benefit for hotels in New Orleans area is 56 million dollars in the 12 days.
Suppliers of the world famous beads might be the happiest of all. They produce and ship nearly 25 million pounds of beads. Most of the beads are imported from China. This does not improve the GDP of the U.S.A. Although this is not impacting the economy but in New Orleans it is positively affected all week. 1.5 million cups are sold, 2.5 million spanish coins are thrown. Everything in related to Mardi Gras is go big or go home. 
The graph on the right shows spending by tourists as well as the amount of tourist. Before Katrina in 2005 New Orleans was at an all time high tourists. This is mainly because of the millions that Mardi Gras attracts. In 2011 nearly 20% of tourists for the whole year were just because of Mardi Gras. This number will grow in the future and only keep improving the economy of New Orleans as well as attracting more and more tourists.
Works Cited
"Beyond Recovery: New Orleans Boasts as a Top Destination for Tourists." TMG Insights - The TMG Consulting Blog. N.p., 24 Apr. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
"Mardi Gras." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Feb. 2017. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
Rhodes, Margaret. "Mardi Gras Mambo." Fast Company. N.p., 30 July 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
As someone who has never celebrated Mardis Gras, it seems unfathomable to me that over 3 times the population of New Orleans attended the festivities. It is interesting to note how much of a toll the attendance took after hurricane Katrina. It seems that the attendance dropped off to nearly 20% of its previous size. On the flip side, however, it is also cool to see that even after such a sizable tragedy, the city can come together and celebrate such a holiday. Overall, it seems Mardis Gras helps everyone to be better off, from the city to the hotels to even those who have a good time partying and celebrating.
ReplyDeleteIt is ridiculous that 3.5 times the New Orleans' population attended Mardis Gras, but even more crazy the amount of profit New Orleans generates during these festivities. In regards to the US GDP, maybe New Orleans could use beads produced in the United States in order to increase our nation's overall GDP.
ReplyDeleteI never knew how huge Mardi Gras was in New Orleans. It's crazy to think that 3.5 times as many of the people in New Orleans attend the festival every year. Knowing that, it makes sense as to why they make such huge profits. They could probably make even more money by making their own beads, instead of importing from China.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the production of beads is not included in our nation’s GDP, the consumer spending that contributes to the celebration of Mardi Gras definitely has an effect on it. If 3.5 times the population of New Orleans attends the Mardi Gras celebration, it’s clear that many people are coming in from all over the country to attend. They have to pay increased rates for things such as airfare, hotels, and dining. Since businesses know how high of a demand their goods are during the celebration, it’s likely that they raise their prices in order to make a higher profit.
ReplyDeleteLike New York's New Years eve, I am sure New Orleans's Mardi Gras is a huge advantage for the Louisiana state. Even though Mardi Gras is not popular in Wisconsin, I feel like this festival is a big deal for the Southerners. It is true on how importing beads from China would not affect the US GDP, however, the US GDP might have an affect in another way. Before the celebration, many companies would have invested or sponsored for this event, which in turn, helps the households to obtain jobs. Their disposable income would increase and in return consumers will increase their spending in the event and in other goods. This whole process could have increased the GDP. Altogether, it was surprising on how hotels gained 56 million dollars in 12 days.
ReplyDeleteI was unaware that Mardi Gras was such as celebrated holiday in the US let alone New Orleans's. Although this isn't celebrated all over, I can see why it makes such a large profit as 3.5 time the population of New Orleans's attends some event related to Mardi Gras. For the city as a whole, hotels, rental cars, and other attractions gain interest due to the tourism in that city for the holiday. However, this profit lowers since they are importing the beads and not manufacturing their own - this is something they can look to do for the future since Mardi Gras is growing and the celebrations are clearly becoming more popular.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting to see each year how popular Mardi Gras is in New Orleans when barely anyone here in Wisconsin celebrates the holiday. The fact that a 12 day holiday generates over 50 million in hotel revenue is amazing and is a create economic benefit for the city. Each February the city looks forward to the extra revenue they know is coming their way.
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ReplyDeleteWhenever I think of Mardi Gras, I always remember the complaints people had about the smell in the streets during and after the festival, and the beads, food, and other miscellaneous souvenirs that are left all over the roads and sidewalks. It never painted a pretty picture in my head, but after reading about the economics of this festival, it intrigues me to learn more about why the hotel owners and bead producers make so much money during this time, and why so many people come to New Orleans and increase the population this much. Holidays and festivals of any kind that attract groups of people to celebrate out of tradition or religion has been proven to greatly improve the economy of wherever that festival or holiday is being held. For example, in January I read a blog post about the economics of New York City around New Year's Eve, and it's crazy to think about how much money people are willing to spend, and how much suppliers and producers are making because of everyone's greater demand during this special time for that supplier or producer's good. I think it would be even more interesting to learn about how much money it takes then to clean up after these huge festivals; we often like to talk about how much people make off of visitors and tourists coming to these celebrations, but we never talk about what happens after these people leave. I think that could be equally as interesting as learning about the economics of a celebration as big as Mardi Gras, and would really give us all an insightful look at how much these festivals effect our economy.
ReplyDeletei Agree that because of all these shrimp orders, the U.S GDP as a whole wouldn't increase but residence in Louisiana's GDP would increase the short-run aggregate supply around Productivity. People working around the clock to get food set days or even months before the holiday. This mood that this holiday brings keeps people motivated. Motivation in something that you believe in like Mardi Gras and how it's all about Christianity, faith, and discipline. When you have so many people come together that believe in the same thing and all are working for the same reason, the week will run smoothly and there will be a harder work ethic.
ReplyDeleteI think its crazy that 1.5 million people travel to New Orleans every year for Mardi Gras. I think there is another huge aspect of Mardi Gras and that involves food. One of the most famous Mardi Gras foods is king cake. I have friends who live in New Orleans and every year they send us a king cake because it is tradition for them to send all their friends king cakes. One of the most interesting aspects of king cakes is that it's famous for the tradition of a little plastic baby inside of it. The tradition is that whoever finds the baby in the cake is considered to have good luck for the rest of the year. I think it would be interesting to know about the economic aspects of the food in New Orleans.
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