The Economic Impact of the Ryder Cup

1. The Economic Impact of the Ryder Cup MAJOR EVENTS AND FESTIVAL IMPACTS | SEMINAR | WEEK 4

2. Seminar Overview • Economic impacts explained • Economic impacts critiqued • The Ryder Cup introduced • The Ryder Cup 2014 in Scotland • Group activity: The Ryder Cup 2010 in Wales • Group discussion

3. Economic impacts explained • Economic impact of a major event refers to the total amount of additional expenditure generated within a defined area as a direct consequence of staging the event. • Three components: Direct impact | Indirect impact | Induced impact • Events can have positive and negative economic impacts. • The value of events is often measured in economic terms. • Economic impact studies try to establish the net change in a host community. • Consider impact on local, regional and national level. • Return on investment as key measures. • The use of figures to legitimise the decision to invest in an event.

4. Economic impacts critiqued • Where do the figures come from? Question statistics. • Economic impact studies as a means of justifying expenditure. • Who conducted the research? Potential for bias. • How to measure impacts? Diverse and theoretically fragile. • Where does the money go? Not all remains within local area. • What are the costs really? Construction, infrastructure cost. • Who makes the decisions? Residents vs decision makers.

5. The Ryder Cup introduced • The biggest team competition in world golf • Held biannually and contested by the best golfers from the USA and Europe • First official Ryder Cup took place in 1927, initially between USA and GB • USA dominance in the 60’s and 70’s led to expansion of GB team to include Europe • Venue alternated between USA and initially England, then in 1973, hosted by Scotland (Spain 1997, Ireland 2006, Wales 2010)

6. The Ryder Cup 2014 in Scotland • http://golf.visitscotland.com/the_2014_ryder_cup.aspx • Scotland’s Ryder Cup Bid: • 1. Cultural Issues – ‘Home of Golf’ • 2. Sport Development – ‘intro to golf for kids’ • 3. Economic Issues – Golf tourism promotion

7. The Ryder Cup 2014 in Scotland • Bidding for Ryder Cup part of wider Golf Tourism Strategy • Promotes images of Scotland (not just Gleneagles) in order to stimulate wider tourism as well as golf tourism • £200m worth of benefit to the Scottish economy (McSherry 2001) • Place marketing, Image promotion, Media coverage

8. The Ryder Cup 2014 in Scotland • Used as a marketing strategy to stimulate golf tourism but can it be sustained? • Constraints on economic benefits of quasi-rural setting – but still £24m investment from public purse • Conflicting messages in strategy?

9. The Ryder Cup 2010 in Wales • Ryder Cup 2010 in Wales http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGsCA4ONf30 • Held at Celtic Manor Resort – Newport Wales • Initial economic impact estimate of £73million for the week before the event • Direct Impact of £53.9million for Wales • South East Wales saw an impact of £48.7million • Newport saw an impact of £18.5 • 70% of the impact contributed by consumer spending

10. The Ryder Cup 2010 in Wales • 172 companies were represented at the 2010 Ryder Cup • 250,000 visits to the competition was recorded over the event • One third of the audience were from Wales • Half were from the rest of the UK • 10% were from overseas – 69% of these said they would return for a short holiday • 89% of people were golf enthusiasts!

11. Group activity • Read the short executive summary of the Ryder Cup 2010 Economic Impact Studyhttp://www.rydercup.com/2010/europe/news/economic_impact_032311.cfm • Discuss the document in your small group and provide a critique (use flipchart paper) • Present and discuss your findings and comments with the rest of the class