KCOY Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo - NewsFilm Festival Draws 70,000 People To Santa Barbara

Film Festival Draws 70,000 People To Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA – The 27^th Santa Barbara International Film Festival is once again drawing big crowds to the Central Coast with ticket sales up 35 percent from last year.

The festival kicked off Friday night and will run through February 5.

"It's terrific because it's great for the local economy," said Roger Durling, SBIFF executive director. "We're going to have an influx of 70,000 people out there who need to eat, who need to sleep and it's fantastic."

For Hotel Santa Barbara, that's good news for room reservations. They've already sold out for five of the nights.

"Well our occupancy is stronger than ever this year for the film festival and it's always exciting for us because it's not only a change for us to showcase our property but Santa Barbara," said Nadine Turner, director of sales for the hotel.

From January 26 through February 5, 23 Oscar nominees will be in Santa Barbara meaning celebrity sightings are likely.

"Very exciting," said Durling, "There's a lot of people here in town and you can feel the buzz."

While many people come from around the world for the festival, local hotels hope they'll be back to the Central Coast to visit again.

"We hope that people who are introduced to Santa Barbara on this trip will come back at a future date or refer Santa Barbara to their friends and family," said Turner.

With special deals at local restaurants and hotels such as Film Feast, Turner said having visitors become repeat customers will help the entire downtown economy.

If you would like to catch a free movie including popcorn and soda, the festival will have free family entertainment on Saturday and Sunday starting at 10 a.m. at the Arlington Theater.

For more information on the festival, click here: http://sbiff.org/