SXSW Interactive Growth Continues
Photo by KUT NewsThousands of tech industry workers were leaving town, just as thousands of music industry people and fans begin to converge on Austin. South by Southwest Interactive ended Tuesday; the music conference gets started Tuesday night.
For the second year in a row, registration at SXSWi grew about 20 percent. Organizers estimate as many as 25,000 people attended.
“The growth totals are a little higher than we anticipated,” said Hugh Forrest, SXSWi’s director. “Part of that is the walkup. There continues to be good buzz on the thing. That creates challenges, but these are better challenges to have than what we had in many previous years.”
Jim Halbrook, spokesman at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, says the extra traffic means security lines at ABIA are sometimes more than an hour long.
“During SXSW, the airlines add extra frequencies and/or larger jets,” Halbrook said. “For example, by 6 a.m. [Tuesday], that maximum wait went up to 65 minutes.”
The beginning of SXSW Music means street closures downtown. Find a map of those closures here.
