ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) — Tourists who attend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland outspend those who simply pass through the Southern Oregon college town.
Recent economic research for the Ashland Chamber of Commerce showed that visitors who did not go to any plays at the festival outnumbered those who did by more than 2-to-1.
But those who did attend plays spent about 40 percent more in Ashland as a group.
The results came from 2007 figures, the most recent data available. During that year, about 90,000 visitors to Ashland saw a festival play while about 214,000 did not.
