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Consultants tell Gulfport council Harbor Lights drew roughly 85,000 visitors and about $14.5 million in economic activity
Summary
Consultants contracted by the city reported that the Harbor Lights Winter Festival attracts mainly day visitors, includes roughly one-third overnight visitors, and produced an estimated $14.5 million economic impact; they urged continued investment and improved yearly data collection.
David DeQuella, a consultant with DD Consulting, presented the city with an executive-summary evaluation of the Gulfport Harbor Lights Winter Festival, saying the project met its goals of offseason activation and creating a local holiday tradition. “It was designed from the get-go as a self-supporting model,” DeQuella told the council, adding that the program has "rarely, if ever, hit into the general fund.”
Dr. Kim Beeson, professor emeritus at the University of Mississippi and CEO of Recreate QOL Consultants, described the study’s methodology and findings, noting seven separate data inputs, on-site QR surveys and pre/post ticketing surveys. The presenters reported an attendance estimate “about 85,000, 87,500 folks, attended the event plus or minus,” and said roughly two-thirds of attendees were within 50 miles of Gulfport while about 30–33% stayed overnight. Based on the model used, the consultants estimated an overall economic impact of about $14.5 million, with roughly $8 million in new GDP for the local area.
Council members asked whether Harbor Lights produced year-to-year profits and whether the city should open the event earlier to avoid rainy days. DeQuella said he could not provide exact annual profit numbers from memory and deferred detailed financial-year data to the finance department, but said “year to year, you’ve either broken even or had revenue come in from the program” and that over a 10-year span the program appears to be net positive overall. On timing, the presenters said earlier openings would be difficult because set-up conflicts with other large events and staffing needs.
The presenters recommended the city keep investing in the lights and the Santa’s Village attractions, improve data collection and repeat consumer-behavior surveys in future years. “This is gonna be a great spot to build from in the future,” DeQuella said, and he and Dr. Beeson offered to help Leisure Services implement ongoing survey processes.
The council did not take action on the presentation; staff said the full 100‑page report is on file with Leisure Services and that the consultants will work with the department on next steps.
