34 Boating New Zealand
Having the VOR boats in Auckland before
their tumultuous dive into the Southern
Ocean was a pretty big deal for the city. What
sort of economic impact did it have?
We won’t know the answer until the
numbers have been crunched – but
everything points to the event being a
great success – with even the weather
playing ball. Ofcials estimate the two-
week stop-over drew more than 500,000
visitors to Westhaven’s Race Village. And as
anyone who visited will attest, the range of
activities and interactive displays translated
into a great vibe.
A comparison with Alicante, in Spain,
where the race started in October last
year, provides an inkling. A recent study
by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) shows
that the VOR generated nearly €100 million
to the Spanish GDP and generated 1,700
jobs in the country. It also had a significant
efect on national tax revenue, adding
more than €41 million.
Hotels, restaurants and local business
were the sectors to benefit the most. Alicante
received 345,602 visitors from October
11 – 22, 2017, (10.3 percent more than in the
2014-15 edition of the race, and 17.6 percent
more than in 2011-12).PWC’s Jordi Esteve put the results in
context: “It shows the great economic
benefits the Volvo Ocean Race can bring to
a city, a region and a country. The impact of
the Race compared to other major events,
whether sporting or otherwise, is a good
measure of its value and importance.”
Interestingly, the PWC report concludes
that the start of the Race in Alicante attracted
more visitors to the Region of Valencia than
all the major music festivals or any other
major sporting event such as the Valencia
Moto GP or the Valencia Marathon.
Alicante has also benefitted greatly by the
international exposure it received via global
media coverage of the race, particularly in
its role as the start port – more than 10,000
news articles (print and online press) with
almost 500 million impressions worldwide.
Over 750 news and television
programmes covered the start, giving a
cumulative audience of more than 200
million viewers, according to data provided
by SMG Insight, the sports marketing
analysis specialists.
After playing host to the start of the last
four editions of the VOR, Alicante has agreed
to extend its relationship with the race for at
least two more cycles.GOOD FOR AUCKLAND?