Festivals are a highlight of summer but penny-pinching after the global financial crisis has forced organisers to offer more free events.
The general manager of the Perth International Arts Festival, which begins in February, Julian Donaldson, says free events draw crowds to the city and are a boost to the local economy.
"We have always had a pretty big commitment to free events in our program. Our festival needs to have
a broad community benefit and we do that by making it accessible with free events," Donaldson says.
The festival's complimentary events, funded by Lotterywest and sponsors, are used as a magnet to draw attention to ticketed events.
The Perth International Arts festival has a budget of $14 million and Donaldson expects 220,000 people to attend ticketed events this year, and 600,000 visitors overall.
Despite good economic growth and low unemployment, Australian consumers have been reluctant to splurge, even on Christmas.
The Perth festival mostly draws punters from Western Australia but Donaldson hopes to attract more interstate and international visitors in the coming years through a partnership with Tourism WA.
"It could be a motivation to com or an added-value event when they get here ... but it could be the difference in deciding whether to come west or not," Donaldson says.
Perth Accommodation at Metro Hotel Perth
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