Large cultural festivals are not only a source of memorable experiences and international prestige. They also provide cities and regions with a significant economic boost: attracting visitors, filling hotels and restaurants, increasing revenues for local businesses and creating thousands of job opportunities. The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Colours of Ostrava, both brought together under Rockaway Arts, the cultural platform of Rockaway Capital, generate an economic impact worth hundreds of millions of Czech crowns for their respective regions every year.
Festivals as a Driver of the Visitor Economy
According to analyses prepared for CzechTourism by Economic impacT in 2022, cultural, sporting, social and conference events in Czechia generate approximately CZK 144 billion in annual consumption. They contribute around CZK 56 billion to public budgets and create a volume of work equivalent to approximately 174,000 full-time jobs. The greatest benefits come from visitors arriving from other regions or from abroad. They spend money on accommodation, food and drink, transport, shopping and leisure activities, and often extend their stays in the destinations beyond the end of the festivals. The organisers are therefore far from being the only beneficiaries. Hotels, restaurants, transport providers, stallholders, shops and other local services also benefit. During the main festival days, some businesses may see their revenues rise to two to four times their usual level.
“Major cultural and sporting events have a positive impact not only on visitor numbers in destinations, but also on local economies. Visitors from outside the region, who extend their stays and generate additional spending, create the greatest economic effect. It is precisely this group of visitors that delivers the strongest economic impact,” said Petr Janeček, Head of the Institute of Tourism at CzechTourism.
KVIFF Significantly Increases Hotel Occupancy and Room Rates
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is the most important recurring cultural event in the Karlovy Vary Region. In addition to showcasing world cinema and hosting prominent international guests, it generates international publicity for the region, strengthens its brand, supports tourism beyond the festival itself and provides the region with a welcome financial boost. The economic impact is most clearly reflected in hotel data. During the festival week in July 2026, hotel occupancy in Karlovy Vary reached 71%, while the average room rate was CZK 6,054. In the week before the festival, occupancy stood at just 32%, with the average room rate at CZK 3,026. In the week following KVIFF, occupancy reached 41%, with an average room rate of CZK 2,954.
The difference was even more pronounced during the main festival weekend, when hotels reached 94% occupancy and the average room rate rose to CZK 7,766. By comparison, occupancy during the weekends before and after the festival was around 30%, while room rates were approximately CZK 3,000. Data from 2024 and 2025 show a similar pattern.
KVIFF Brought Approximately CZK 550 Million to the Region
In 2025, the festival, its guests and visitors generated approximately CZK 550 million in spending in Karlovy Vary. Around CZK 420 million of this amount came from guest expenditure. Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary also paid more than CZK 112 million to companies based in the city or to businesses employing people from Karlovy Vary and the surrounding area. Temporary workers, cashiers, hostesses, drivers and other staff with permanent residence in Karlovy Vary who helped ensure the smooth running of the festival received almost CZK 10.5 million.
Supporting local businesses is one of the city representatives’ main priorities. The city is well aware of the festival’s importance to the local economy and the wider region and therefore supports it on a regular basis. Both last year and this year, the contribution amounted to CZK 11 million, and in 2026 the two parties signed an agreement covering a further four years. According to Karlovy Vary Mayor Andrea Pfeffer Ferklová, the festival’s actual contribution exceeds the subsidies and other forms of support provided by the city. The festival also receives CZK 47 million in support from the Ministry of Culture, with which it extended its cooperation agreement for a further three years in 2025.
“This year’s KVIFF was exceptional. The festival celebrated its 60th edition while also commemorating 80 years since its founding. The entire organising team succeeded in building on the festival’s extraordinary legacy and once again transformed Karlovy Vary into one of the world’s most important centres of cinema for several days,” said Jan Jírovec, Investment Partner at Rockaway Capital and Head of the Rockaway Arts platform.
The Economic Impact of Colours Approaches CZK 1 Billion
Ostrava has previously estimated the festival’s direct economic contribution at hundreds of millions of Czech crowns annually. The event itself has a budget of approximately CZK 300 million. Alongside its economic results, the festival also has a significant social and cultural impact. It offers live music, discussions and opportunities for personal interaction that cannot be replaced by digital content.
“Colours of Ostrava is one of the events capable of bringing visitors to the city from across the country and from abroad. For Ostrava, it is a great opportunity to demonstrate that we are not merely a backdrop for the festival, but a vibrant city with a distinctive atmosphere, industrial heritage, architecture, culture and high-quality gastronomy. We want people to leave Ostrava not only with memories of the concerts, but also with a desire to return,” said Ostrava Mayor Jan Dohnal ahead of this year’s festival.
The impact does not end at the festival grounds. Some visitors stay in Ostrava longer or continue their trips to the Beskids and Jeseníky mountains, allowing the wider Moravian-Silesian Region to benefit from the event. The festival is prepared throughout the year by a team of approximately 40 people, which expands to several hundred ahead of the event. More than 5,000 people then work directly on site in production, security, catering and technical roles. “Meeting and sharing experiences together cannot be replaced. Live music can evoke emotions that cannot be transmitted in any other way,” said Filip Košťálek, Artistic Director of Colours of Ostrava.
Culture as a Long-Term Investment in Regions
The festival also significantly changes hotel demand in Ostrava. During the week of Colours of Ostrava in July 2026, hotel occupancy reached approximately 55%, while the average room rate was CZK 4,477. In the weeks before and after the festival, occupancy was around 25%, with room rates of approximately CZK 2,600. During the main festival weekend, occupancy rose to 85%, while room rates approached CZK 7,000. Outside the festival period, hotels were approximately 30% occupied, and room rates generally remained below CZK 3,000. CzechTourism recorded a similar trend during the previous two years. KVIFF and Colours of Ostrava demonstrate that major cultural events are more than short-term occasions. They generate revenues for local businesses, create jobs, increase municipal income from accommodation fees and strengthen the destination’s brand over the long term.
“The economic contribution of major cultural events does not lie solely in visitor numbers. What matters most is their ability to attract visitors from other regions and from abroad, extend their stays, increase their spending and simultaneously strengthen the destination’s image,” Petr Janeček of CzechTourism concluded.
Through its Rockaway Arts platform, Rockaway Capital invested in the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival five years ago and in Colours of Ostrava one year later. Together with Designblok, these projects now form a cultural platform connecting film, music and design.