The Ryder Cup matches were a win for the Detroit Metro area with $77 million pumped into the local economy in direct visitor spending and $114 million in gross economic impact, according to a report commissioned by the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau (DMCVB).
Additionally, 67 percent of visitors reported that attending Ryder Cup was their first visit to the metro Detroit region. Of that group, 62 percent indicated they would visit again. More than 80 percent of attendees reported satisfaction with their experience at the event.
Economic results in the study were based on the number of out-of-the-area visitors, their party size and projected individual spending provided in an intercept survey of nearly 600 attendees on-site at the Ryder Cup matches. The $77 million in direct spending represents short run gross local spending while $114 million accounts for direct spending by visitors plus indirect impact that includes additional business taxes and additional property type income generated from the event such as corporate and rental income.
The economic impact and market research analysis study of Ryder Cup was commissioned by the DMCVB with Dr. Patrick Rishe, Professor of Economics at Webster University and president of Sportsimpacts.com. Rishe estimated the average party spent between $290 and $410 per day while visiting Metro Detroit. The estimate did not include spending on hotels, tickets or airfare. The average party size was three people. Of the estimated 40,000 visitors per day to the Ryder Cup, 55 percent were from out-of-the area. International visitors accounted for 12.2 percent of total visitors.
Hotel occupancy was another measure of the economic benefit Ryder Cup brought to the region. The Metro Detroit hotel market experienced a 28.4 % increase during Ryder Cup week compared to occupancy over the same week last year, according to Smith Travel Research, the lodging industry’s leading information and data provider. Average hotel rates were $106.02, up 37.2 % over the same week last year.
More than 57 percent of visitors reported staying in hotels while in the area. The increase in total hotel guest room revenue for the Metro Detroit region was estimated at more than $8.5 million as a direct result of the Ryder Cup matches at Oakland Hills.
DMCVB www.visitdetroit.com
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