Economic valuation of a medium-sized sporting event: impact of the spanish swimming championship

Abstract

Sports events are currently associated to economic profits and tourism attraction. It is increasingly common for cities to consider local development strategies where sporting events take the center stage. This study analyzes the economic impact of the XVIII Spanish Spring Open Absolute Swimming Championship 2017. It addresses three aspects of economic impact. First, it applies a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to estimate the economic impact of the event. Moreover, it identifies and describes the socio-demographic and tourist profile of the attendees to the event. This provides a better understanding of spending pattern of the event. Finally, it identifies the presence of shadow prices for the championship, which has traditionally been free of charge. The event attracts a total of 902 attendees who spend 3.9 days on average in the host city. Average expenditure is close to 260 euros and it provides a direct economic impact of nearly 200,000 euros. Attendees to the event who were first-time visitors to the city represented 25% and 88% of these visitors indicated their intention to repeat the visit. The results of measuring an intangible aspect like shadow prices were also very revealing. A high percentage of attendees were willing to pay a fee for attending the event. Specifically, the respondents indicated the possibility of paying €7 on average per competition day. Furthermore, this paper provides new evidence on the economic impact of medium-sized events and their ability to participate in local economic development and tourism attraction.