Summernats brought $43.6 million into the ACT in January, with a record 133,825 nights worth of accommodation from a 78 per cent interstate attendance, an economic study by the organisers has revealed.
Growing the street machine festival to five days - which included an "entrants only" Wednesday night - was described as generating a "windfall" to the territory by event co-owner Andy Lopez.
This despite Australia's largest car event of its kind again being mired in controversy with charges laid against two security staff for assaulting patrons.
The study by Melbourne-based event research specialists IER found that over 47,000 people travelled from outside the ACT to Summernats, with 130,000 attendees across the festival including the 2500 entrants and those who had bought multi-day tickets.
To better engage with those from the Canberra public who do not attend and to help them better understand the event, the Fringe Festival in Braddon was grown this year, attracting around 40,000 spectators and 600 vehicles over three nights.
"It's not just the outright economic impact number that's important, it's the relative return on investment that the ACT government earns for their support of the event that is quite extraordinary," Mr Lopez said.
"When it comes to bang for buck for government investment, Summernats is impossible to beat."
This year's Summernats introduced an event control management centre with multiple CCTV feeds, with oversight by a company which watches over some of the biggest events in the country including the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the Vivid Festival and the Deni Ute Muster.
Summernats, begun by the late Chic Henry in 1988 has grown from strength to strength but still faces issues with drug and alcohol consumption, as well as hoon driving on the internal cruise circuit endangering spectators.
Next year's event is again building in momentum already with car entries and the most expensive platinum passes selling out months earlier than all previous editions, and spectator passes significantly up from the same time last year.
The 2025 event will be staged from January 2-5.
