Executive Summary - Key Findings
- Data from 385 CRMs of arts venues illustrate two years of extremely challenging trading in all territories.
- While reductions in sales and revenues in 2020 were universally catastrophic, the pace of recovery between and within nations in2021 was very varied, both geographically and by venue type.
- The positive trends in all territories in November 2021 were not sustained into December 2021 as the Omicron variant spread around the world.
- In some nations there has been movement between 2019 and 2021 in the average age and wealth of bookers, but this has been minor, not fundamental.
- The majority of bookers in 2021 were first time bookers. This was also the case before the pandemic in 2019.
- Across all venues on average booking patterns were no later in2021 than they were in 2019.
North America
- The ticket sales revival in 2021 was stronger in the U.S than Canada.
- There was significant variation in the pace of the revival in the U.S.
- Geographically, the Plains and Southeast performed substantially more strongly in 2021 than the East.
- Music venues in the sample performed substantially better than theatres in 2021.
- Advance booking patterns in 2021 were very similar in the U.S. compared to 2019, but booking was a lot slower in Canada.
- In the U.S. in 2021 there was a higher proportion of all ages of bookers under 50, but the average age of bookers was just 1.3years lower in 2021 (55.2) compared to 2019 (56.5).
- In the U.S. Baby Boomers remain the largest generation, but the proportion of bookers has fallen by 3%. The greatest growth since2019 has been in Generation Y.
- While there are small reductions in the proportion of all household income bands over $75,000, the median income band remains $75,000-$99,999 in the U.S.
- Half of bookers in 2021 were making their first registered purchase at a venue. While this figure is high, it is no more than pre-pandemic levels.
United Kingdom and Ireland
- The ticket sales revival was stronger in the U.K. than the Republic of Ireland.
- There was significant variation in the pace of the revival in the U.K.
- Geographically, the South West of England and Northern Ireland performed substantially stronger in 2021 than Wales, Yorkshire and the North East of England.
- Large presenting theatres in the sample performed substantially better than large producing theatres in 2021.
- Advance booking patterns in 2021 were very similar in the U.K. compared to 2019, but booking was a lot slower in the Republic of Ireland.
- In the U.K. in 2021 there was a higher proportion of all ages of bookers under 60, but the average age of bookers was just 1.0 year lower in 2021 (56.4) compared to 2019 (57.4).
- In the U.K. Baby Boomers remain the largest generation, but the proportion of bookers has fallen by 3%. The greatest growth since2019 has been in Generation X.
- More than half of bookers in 2021 were making their first registered purchase at a venue. While this figure is high, it is no more than pre-pandemic levels.
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