Building The Space Experience Economy
Profiting From The Space Experience Economy
Renaissance Hotel LAX, Los Angeles
APRIL 28, 2023
Space Tourism Conference (STC) presents the cross-section of industries comprising space tourism: aerospace, media, entertainment, architecture, design, advertising, marketing, finance, high tech, science, manufacturing, futurism and the arts.
Why Space Tourism?
Because it’s Big Business. And, yes, INSPIRING!
The STC is the world’s first and leading event devoted specifically to the commercial civilian outer-space travel sector. With decades of development behind it, the space tourism industry has entered its exciting next generation with private enterprise flights and many other consumer offerings in market and generating revenue.
The world’s leading space tourism advocacy organization for 20+ years, the Space Tourism Society (STS) is an integral partner in STC programs. A hallmark of the STC is a dynamic mix of executives representing the breadth and depth of the space experience economy. Attendees can expect concrete, actionable information, real-world use cases, and stellar deal-making. PLUS it offers an inside track to the growth areas in space tourism, including earth-based outer space-themed experiences.
The April 28 conference date was deliberately chosen to honor the anniversary of Dennis Tito’s historic lift-off in 2001 as the world’s first private space tourist. Tito’s flight jump-started the space tourism industry, generating massive consumer awareness of the possibilities of private space travel and consumer outer space experiences.
Image: Dennis Tito, first space tourist. Credit:
NASA / Science Photo Library
The Space Tourism Dream Has Become a Reality
The year 2021 will be recorded in history as the year space tourism got liftoff. In rapid succession, Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and Blue Origin scored huge wins. The era of reusable rockets and capsules financed and operated by the commercial space industry is in full swing.
It will significantly accelerate over the next decade. And great strides were made in every other aspect of the ecosystem—finance, manufacturing, software, marketing, entertainment and thought leadership.
The Inspiration4 mission heralded a new level of maturation of the industry: not only did a private citizen pay for all the trip’s tickets, the first such ‘chartered’ voyage in history, but the effort incorporated a branded philanthropic effort.
In September 2021, Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched the world’s first all-civilian mission to orbit. SpaceX plans to send Yusaku Maezawa & 8 guests onboard Starship in 2024 on the first ever private enterprise lunar flyby.
‘Star Trek’s’ Shatner went to space on Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket in 2021. Jeff Bezos went to space himself the same year. All told, we’ve seen astonishing achievements and benchmarks.
At STC, we’ll look ahead to the very near future and beyond. Private space travel has arrived. The countdown is done. It’s now time to fly many more private citizens—vacationers, contest winners, athletes, actors, artists, and all seeking incomparable life-altering experiences.
Space Economy is not only about spaceflight
The Space Experience Economy boasts an exciting confluence of many important sectors. The intersection creates whole new sub-industries.
Entertainment Drives Consumer Demand
Movies, music, television, books, games, the arts and earth-based space-themed experiences (attractions, resorts, location-based entertainment) serve as the foundation for driving IRL space tourism. The Star Wars franchise alone has earned $56B+, with others such as Star Trek, the Marvel universe, IMAX movies and other content properties generating billions more.
The galactic synergy between art and commerce in space expands with the announcement of new films and shows planned for outer space shoots and studios developing to serve them.
