Restaurant and hotel managers and boutique owners around the city are likely humming "There's No Business Like Show Business" as they stand to rake in millions of dollars during the 31st annual Toronto International Film Festival.Posh hotels stand to make some of the biggest profits, including the swanky inn in the centre of the action in Yorkville. A handful of top-notch rooms at the Four Seasons got a massive makeover for the 10-day festival. Each suite runs about $3,500 per night.
"It is our biggest time of the year. Very exciting to have it back, we look forward to it - very exciting," Roseanne David, guest relations manager for the Four Seasons Hotel, said.
"It's not only about the big celebrities staying here. It's about our repeat guests, people here on business, groups, they see what changes we made through the hotel -- that will bring them back for more business. I definitely think this is a good, positive change for the hotel."
According to a comprehensive study in 2001 conducted by an outside company, the city raked in $67 million by the end of the festival that year. That figure doesn't include all of the films that were purchased, sold, and distributed in backroom deals.
Restaurants, especially those in the Yorkville area, also stand to make a tidy profit with celebrity gazers, the stars themselves and industry workers creating a massive increase in business.
The Toronto International Film Festival, an event now on par with Sundance and Cannes, has grown so much in the last five years, there are estimates the city could make up to $70 million by the end of this year's event.
A total of 352 films from 61 countries will be showcased in Toronto this year, with over 500 stars and guests expected to attend.
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