Perth 2011 World Championships boosted WA economy, report shows

The Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships today announced that the event exceeded economic forecasts after independent reports showed it injected almost $39 million into the Western AustraIia economy and generated nearly $15 million of global media exposure for the region.

Backed by the State Government who invested $8.8 million into the Championships, the 16 day event hosted the world’s best sailing talent from 10 Olympic classes in over 630 races in December last year.

Nearly 8,000 people from Australia and overseas flocked to Perth to watch the event, generating a significant upturn in tourism and hospitality. Speaking about the Championship’s impact, Tourism Minister Dr Kim Hames said:

“More than 7,800 people attended the actual event and, when you take into account the test event in 2010, the emerging nations program and numerous training camps, the total number of visitors was more than 9,300, generating an economic benefit of $38.6 million. Crucially for our tourism and hospitality industries, the average length of stay was 21 days, which meant a total of almost 197,000 visitor nights.”

Beside the inward investment generated by the influx of tourism over the course of the event, the organisers also ensured the media exposure captured not only the on-water action but also promoted the regions of Fremantle, Perth and Western Australia.

Over 455 hours of television was broadcast to 105 countries around the world, which, according to Repucom International, generated $14.6 million of media value. Additional print, radio and TV coverage in Australia and New Zealand adds a further $2 million to that figure as reported by Sentia Media.

“Perth 2011 will benefit the sport of sailing in Western Australia for many years to come,” added Dr Hames, who was referring to the Championship’s legacy programme. Hundreds of officials and volunteers were trained to work at the event, while $1 million of physical sailing and wider water sports assets were donated to local clubs and organisations.

To echo the words of Goran Petersson, the President of ISAF, “Perth 2011 has set the standard for all future international sailing events.”