AN INDEPENDENT survey could determine the future of Fowey's Daphne du Maurier Festival – and prevent the curtains closing on the lucrative event.

Cornwall Council commissioned tourist body Visit Cornwall to gather information from visitors and businesses throughout and after the 10-day festival last week. The outcome could determine Cornwall Council's future investment in the event.

Now in its 13th year, the festival – with its massive international pull and local investment of £1 million – would be missed by fans and local traders if the funding plug was eventually pulled.

The Cornish Guardian revealed last year that Cornwall Council planned to gradually reduce funding by £100,000 in total by 2013/14, with the festival becoming "self-sustainable".

Fowey Tourist Information Centre manager, Lynn Goold, was hopeful the survey would result in the preservation of the festival.

"I believe it will be very positive. Throughout, people have been talking to visitors on the Town Quay and other venues to establish whether they have come for the festival.

"I met one woman who had come over from New Delhi this year especially to visit the festival for the first time and completely fell in love with it.

"I led some of the walks; so many people think it's fantastic and say to me; 'you can't let it go'.

"It's very hard to compare it year on year, but Fowey was busy again."

Mrs Goold said there was a core of people who would like to see the strength of the festival preserved.

"It brings many people into the town who then come back and tell their friends – it's great publicity."

The business community has said it would fight to keep the event which draws in so many visitors in May before the busy summer season kicks in.

Chamber of commerce chairman, John Burford said: "I think the festival is vitally important – we are lucky to have it and we certainly don't want to lose it. I hope that if the funding was pulled, people in Fowey would fight for it. I am interested in the findings of the survey. We sponsored a talk about the places around Fowey Daphne du Maurier wrote about, which completely sold out."

Cornwall Council creative services officer and festival organiser, Jonathan Aberdeen, said: "The survey will be a piece of evidence which is carried out independently but which, I am sure, is going to find favourably and will help to justify hosting this event. The Visit Cornwall team will be contacting businesses after the event as well.

"It's gone very well again. We had some cancellations but we also had events which sold out.

"The weather really helped this year and I think people really liked the diverse mix of artists – from Julian Lloyd Webber and June Whitfield to the Stranglers – when it felt like a mini Glastonbury up here.

"I have no idea about funding for the festival next year – the council will probably decide around August."