Joe GallopThis year’s AJ Bell Tour of Britain and Women’s Tour cycle races, organised by sports events and marketing company SweetSpot, delivered a net economic impact of more than £34m for the UK economy.
The races, which took place in September and October having been postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, drew more than 1.3m spectators across the 14 days of competition.
The £34m total was an increase of almost £10m from the 2019 editions of the events, according to a survey by Frontline, which specialises in tourism and sports-related impact assessment.
The AJ Bell Tour of Britain generated £29,958,432 of net economic benefit for the UK economy, while a month later the AJ Bell Women’s Tour produced an impact of £4,890,896 net.
In addition, 57% of fans surveyed said that the events had inspired them to cycle more often.
The findings come a month after UK Sport and the City of London Corporation published findings that major sports events in the UK could deliver up to £4bn of soft power, trade and investment benefits in the next decade.
SweetSpot chief executive Hugh Roberts said, “Major sporting events like the Tour of Britain and Women’s Tour continue to provide a huge role in inspiring people and creating these economic benefits. We are fortunate with road cycling to not be restricted to a stadium and being able to reach communities large and small across the country, as we did in 2021, from Cornwall to Aberdeenshire, and Carmarthenshire to Suffolk.”
Frontline consultant Gillian Spooner said, “We are delighted to see such strong impact figures following a year of no events as a result of the pandemic. Findings show the importance and resilience of outdoor sporting events to the local and wider economies across Great Britain.”