Open Championship's £100m boost to Scottish economy

Published on Tuesday 15 March 2011 14:54

THE Open Championship brought a £100 million benefit to the Scottish economy when it was held at St Andrews last year, new research has revealed.

The event, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2010, exceeded the initial 80m forecast by academics at the Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) at Sheffield Hallam University in July last year.

The 100m headline figure includes a Scotland-wide economic impact of 47.4m and a destination marketing benefit of 52.6m, calculated from the global television coverage presenting Scotland as the "home of golf".

The independent research study, commissioned jointly by the golfing body the Royal & Ancient (R&A) and EventScotland, found that most of the economic impact was focused on St Andrews and the Fife council area, with 40.1m income entering the local economy directly attributable to the Open Championship.

R&A chief executive, Peter Dawson said: "The Open Championship averages six appearances in Scotland in a ten-year cycle and we are delighted that the only major championship staged outside the US delivers such a powerful legacy to the country recognised, the world over, as the home of golf".

The returns represents a near 30 per cent increase over the last economic impact study on the event, carried out in 2005 when the Open was last previously held at St Andrews.

That saw an economic benefit of 72m, 32m generated from economic impact and a further 40m through global media coverage.

The event is golf's oldest Major competition - first played in 1860 - and has the widest international scope of all such championships, with qualifying events held on every continent.

As a result of the 2010 financial return, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed yesterday in relation to the staging of the Open Championship in Scotland.

The R&A, Fife, Angus, East Lothian and South Ayrshire councils, along with EventScotland and VisitScotland put their names to the MOE, which will establish consistent arrangements for future Open Championships in Scotland.

Councillor Peter Grant, leader of Fife Council said: "To stage successful events like the Open requires a great deal of hard work, collaboration and partnership working and we welcome the new initiative to improve on these arrangements so that the Open, when held in Scotland, will continue to be an event of the highest quality and help promote Scotland worldwide as a must-visit destination."Mike Cantlay, chairman of EventScotland and VisitScotland said, "The Open Championship is the perfect example of what Scotland does very well - stage world-class events that draw visitors from around the globe.

"Every golf fan wants to be at St Andrews when the Open is played, and every time it is it delivers impressive economic results for Scotland. Today's announcement highlights once again why Scotland is the Home of Golf."

A recent report by Deloitte valued the Scottish tourism industry at 11 billion annually.