St Andrews Open worth £80 million to Scotland
The Open Golf Championship at St Andrews is expected to deliver an £80 million boost to the Scottish economy.
Mr Salmond with R&A hostesses Lyndsey Russell (left), from St Andrews and Hannah Tait from Edinburgh.
- By Gordon Berry
- Published in the Courier : 16.07.10
- Published online : 16.07.10 @ 07.57am
First Minister Alex Salmond revealed the forecast arising from work carried out at the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University.
The work has been commissioned by the R&A and VisitScotland.
It shows that the Open is expected to generate £35 million for Scotland in visitor spending.
There would also be £45 million in "place marketing effect" through over 3000 hours of global television coverage — itself a 35% increase on last year's event.
The project coincides with an expectation from VisitScotland of strong international golf tourism numbers this year.
Leading US golf tour operators are reporting that 2010 sales for Scotland up to last month have risen 49% against the same period last year.
During a trade mission to China last week, meanwhile, Mr Salmond stepped up the drive to attract more Chinese golf tourism with the launch of the first dedicated Scottish golf brochure.
Initial reports from Chinese tour operators show that they are expecting to exceed their revenue targets from Scotland tours following the visit.
Mr Salmond spoke to a number of media representatives in front of the R&A marquee at the event, and declared that, "this is a great time for golf in Scotland."
"As one of the world's greatest golfing nations, and the home of the game, our fantastic courses and scenery continue to provide a draw for visitors across the globe," he said.
Mr Salmond added that the world-class championship that is the Open is the jewel in the crown of our sporting calendar, and continues to ensure Scotland shines on the world stage.
"Following on from last week's Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, as we gear up to towards staging five Women's Open championships over the next decade, and hosting the Ryder Cup in 2014, we have a fantastic story to tell. We have a great tradition in golf and have produced world-class golfers over the years," he said.
"We are working hard to bring forward the next generation of talent and ensure that Scottish golfers regularly feature at the top of the leader board at future events."
Mr Salmond spoke of his enthusiasm for the national junior golf programme clubgolf, which has seen investment of £500,000.
"We are introducing record numbers of young people to the game, with an estimated 41,000 children in P5 set to benefit this year.
"We are also investing £1 million to support Scotland's most talented amateur players make the transition to the professional game.
"Golf is a vital part of the fabric of our nation, and we will continue to capitalise on the benefits of the game for years to come," he said.
Professor Simon Shibli, head of the Sport Industry Research Centre, said that, as an academic institution, it is the centre's style to quote credible figures that can be supported by an audit trail of evidence.
"Our research confirms the Open as one of the economic jewels in the crown of the UK sporting calendar," he said.
"With an economic impact of almost £9 million per day, it would be fair to say that every day of the Open is a major event in its own right.
"The Open is further evidence of how sports events can lead to significant spending in the host economy by visitors as well as acting as a global advertisement for a nation's tourism offer," he said.
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