You don’t have to be the Straz Center’s Judy Lisi to see the reinforcing good news in those recent statistics released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the National Endowment for the Arts.
In sum, the data show that creative industries, from Hollywood to the performing arts, account for at least 3.2 percent of U.S. goods and services–or about $504 billion.
In short, we always knew the arts and culture affected the economy. But half a trillion dollars worth of GDP? That’s a bigger impact than travel and tourism.