A SERIES of festivals and events in Dumfries and Galloway generated more than £6 million for the local and Scottish economy in late 2018.
The analysis from Dumfries and Galloway Council shows that the 20th annual Wigtown Book Festival had an economic impact of £3.75m, the Electric Fields music festival £1.45m, the Stranraer Oyster Festival up to £1.1m and the Galloway Hills Rally £120,000.
The above events are all funded by the council as part of its Major Events and Festivals Strategy 2018-2021.
Councillor Adam Wilson said: “The variety of events and the enthusiasm of the teams behind them is extraordinary – together they offer a foretaste of what we have to come in 2019. The oyster festival is just two years old and has already grown into a superb event with the potential to help regenerate Stranraer in the same way that the book festival has supported the economy of Wigtown over the last 20 years.”
In 2019 the rural Scottish region will have a Big Burns Supper festival, followed by the opening of the new National Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling at Moat Brae House, Dumfries, in the spring.
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