Final yr’s Open was particular for a number of causes, and Scotland has reaped the monetary advantages of the event to the tune of over £300m – the best in its historical past.
In addition to being the one hundred and fiftieth version of the match, it was held on the Residence of Golf, St Andrews, for the primary time since 2015. The drama on the course was fascinating, too, with Cameron Smith easing to his first Main victory two days after three-time Open winner Tiger Woods left The Previous Course, doubtlessly for the ultimate time.
The enhance to the Scottish economic system actually displays the importance of the event. In accordance with an impartial examine commissioned by The R&A, VisitScotland and Fife Council, the Main massively benefitted Scotland economically.
The examine, performed by Sheffield Hallam College’s Sport Trade Analysis Centre (SIRC), revealed the match impacted Scotland to the tune of £106m in new cash coming into the economic system. In addition to that, impartial analysis led by YouGov Sport exhibits an extra £201m of vacation spot advertising profit reaching Scotland due to the match’s broadcast worldwide.
CEO of The R&A Martin Slumbers stated: “The one hundred and fiftieth Open was a historic event for golf which has generated a considerable financial profit for Scotland due to a record-breaking attendance at St Andrews and tens of hundreds of thousands of followers worldwide who watched the Championship broadcast.
Tradition Minister Christina McKelvie confused the advantage of the match, and others, to the Scottish economic system. She stated: “Scotland is the Residence of Golf and this impartial report confirms the numerous profit The one hundred and fiftieth Open delivered to our economic system.
“The Scottish Authorities has a long-standing monitor document of supporting golf occasions, together with direct assist for the annual males’s and girls’s Scottish Open. Final yr was an unprecedented success for golf occasions in Scotland, headlined by The one hundred and fiftieth Open at St Andrews.”
Director of Occasions at Go to Scotland, Paul Bush OBE, echoed her sentiments, saying: “2022 marked a momentous yr for golf in Scotland with a quantity of the world’s greatest and most prestigious golf championships returning residence to be performed over an motion packed 5 weeks.
“Right now’s influence figures emphasise the significance of the Championships to each Fife and Scotland, and to the broader post-pandemic restoration with the dimensions of advantages strengthening one other important chapter in Scotland’s wealthy {golfing} historical past.”
Attendance figures additionally hit a brand new document, with 290,000 followers flocking to St Andrews, which simply surpassed the earlier excessive of 239,000 on the identical venue in 2000. The examine additionally revealed that Fife alone had obtained a £61m enhance of recent cash on account of the massive numbers arriving on the area for the match.
The Open captured the creativeness of tourists from around the globe, too, with greater than half who attended coming from exterior Scotland. That included 31% from elsewhere within the UK and 19.2% from the USA. Issues bode nicely for future Opens, too, with 52% of spectators saying they hoped to attend a minimum of one of many subsequent three.
Councillor Altany Craik of Fife Council stated: “The previous three years have been a really tough time for tourism, and this offered a really great addition to our lodging suppliers, eating places and different tourism-related companies.“