The amount of money injected into the Irish economy by The 2006 Ryder Cup in Ireland reached a record €143 million, according to a new report by Deloitte & Touche, jointly commissioned by Ryder Cup Europe and Fà¡ilte Ireland (The Irish Tourism Development Authority).
The Total Direct Economic Impact figure, of €143 million exceeded pre-event predictions of €130 million and represented a significant 32% increase on the impact of The 2002 Ryder Cup in England and an 80% increase on that of The 1997 Ryder Cup in Spain.
The bulk of the impact came from event organisers and from spectators who each spent an average of €350 per day while at The 2006 Ryder Cup overseas spectators spent the most, at €526 per day. In the corporate sector the average guest spent €500 each day, while those from the United States spent an average of €600 per day.
Deloittes point out in the report that total spectator spending was up 60% compared to The Belfry in 2002, mostly due to the increased week-long attendance of 260,000 in 2006 compared to 147,000 in 2002. Ireland also benefited from a more than 50% increase in spending by spectators outside the event compared to 2002, with overseas spectators staying longer and spending more than ever before on extended holidays around The Ryder Cup.
Deloitte’s report represents a conservative calculation of The Ryder Cup’s impact, with only directly measurable expenditure included in their calculations, which excluded any expenditure that would have occurred anyway had The Ryder Cup not been on.
The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O‘Donoghue, TD, warmly welcomed the findings of the Report. He said: “Not only does the report confirm that the total economic benefit of the event to the economy comfortably exceeded earlier estimates, it also confirms previously reported perceptions about our visitors‘ experience, with over 80% suggesting that they would return to Ireland in the future and 92% prepared to recommend Ireland as a golfing holiday destination.”
The Minister said that the challenge now is to build on this positive outcome and to ensure that the legacy of The Ryder Cup 2006 is secured for the benefit of Irish tourism.
Richard Hills, The Ryder Cup Director, said: “We are delighted that these figures, calculated using conservative methodology, accurately reflect the increasing popularity of The Ryder Cup and golf in the market place, and the way in which the event and the game – allied to a strong partnership between Ryder Cup and Fà¡ilte Ireland – drive tourism.
“This is highlighted by the fact that in addition to spending 3 days at The Ryder Cup, visitors from America stayed in Ireland for a further 4.7 days, while other overseas visitors stayed for an additional three days. Furthermore, our colleagues at Fà¡ilte Ireland tell us that an additional 90,000 overseas visitors went to Ireland in September 2006 compared to the same month the previous year, with a significant proportion of this influx being related to The Ryder Cup.”
The €143 million total also excluded the “downstream” effect of the additional expenditure generated by The Ryder Cup, where direct spending is recycled through the economy, bringing further benefit. By applying carefully selected economic models, Deloitte calculates that when this effect is taken into account, the full impact of The 2006 Ryder Cup on the Irish economy was around €240 million.
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