Economic sustainability can be viewed from the angle of the event's financial health or from the viewpoint of the financial benefit the event has to its stakeholders, support community and supply chain. Both are relevant and intertwined and should be considered in partnership.
Economic impact can be direct or indirect, positive or negative.
Direct economic impact can include return on investment and financial success of the event or financial benefit to the community and supply chain as a result of event activities. For example;
- hotel nights booked in partnership with event tickets
- contracting of local service providers
- employment of local workforce
- procurement of locally produced products
Indirect economic impacts can include;
- residual tourism income from event attendees due to entertainment
- spending and additional accommodation bookings
- enduring tourism or visitation
- business dealings in the local community as a result of event activities and exposure
‘Market presence’ is also an indicator of positive economic impacts of the event. This is where the event’s activities support the ongoing viability of the event industry in a region or supply chain health (through its purchasing or sourcing). An example would be a mega event landing into a city or region and the establishment of infrastructure and services leads to that region becoming an ongoing event destination because of the existence of event specific infrastructure, supply chain and service providers.
Measuring Direct and Indirect Economic Impacts
Measuring economic impact allows evaluation of economic return on investment and indirect financial benefit to the host community, supply chain and other stakeholders. Measures can include:
- Percentage of expenditure on local suppliers, contractors and service providers
- Percentage of event workforce sourced locally
- Total additional expenditure as a direct consequence of staging the event.
- Enduring increased visitation to the region
- Increased enduring commerce to the region
- Increase awareness and exposure to the region
- Provision of infrastructure resources
- Supply chain innovation and enduring business opportunities for those suppliers
- Cost savings due to resource conservation and sustainability initiatives
Read Economic Impact Reports
