Over the years, the Festival has conducted several surveys to determine exactly who its audience is. A survey was conducted in 1993 and 1995. An informal survey of more than 400 visitors to the festival was taken in 1997, which assisted in compiling the following conclusions:

• More than 180,000 people attend events each season.
• More than 33% of those people travel more than 30 miles.
• Roughly 39% of our audience lives within a 10-mile radius.
• Nearly 52% of all P.P.A.F. audiences state they come to Portsmouth solely to attend Festival events.
• One-third of our audience stated they would not come to Portsmouth as often if the arts festival did not occur.
• On average, groups of four or more, mostly families, attend the majority of festival events.

A survey undertaken by Strawbery Banke determined that the 11 cultural/historical non-profits in Portsmouth, who meet monthly under the tutelage of the Portsmouth Arts and Cultural Alliance, bring in more than $5 million worth of business to the area.