A recent study shows that the 2007 Wild Wing River and Nature Festival in Mississippi’s Jackson and George counties had an economic impact of $142,664.
The 2007 festival, the fifth of its kind, included 12 events from April 13-22 in and around the Pascagoula River.
Semoon Chang, a professor of economics at the University of South Alabama, based the economic impact study on a survey he developed for participants of the event.
The project, funded through a grant from the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, also studied the 2007 Alabama Coastal Birdfest, which took place Oct. 18-21 in Baldwin and Mobile counties.
Birdfest included 21 events over four days. It had an economic impact of $150,895, according to the study.
The survey also found that a majority of participants in both festivals held bachelor’s degrees, was over 50 years old and had a household income of $50,000 or more.