By Chris Hardy

RESEARCHERS claim the Open golf championship at Carnoustie last year generated well over £14 million for the local economy.

Comperio Research, which carried out a similar economic impact assessment after the 2005 Open at St Andrews, also reported the event generated 171 hours of global television and media coverage of Angus valued at £34 million.

The study, which was completed last November, cost £20,000.

It concluded the most prestigious event in the world golfing calendar raised awareness of Carnoustie as a premier golf destination and drew thousands of tourists to Angus and the surrounding area— acting as a flagship for local tourism development.

Television and media coverage amounted to 2172 hours, with Angus receiving a total of 171 hours of scenic, graphic and verbal exposure.

Of this, 47% was delivered from North America and 23% from the Asia Pacific region, significantly increasing the exposure of Angus and Carnoustie in these key areas.

The Open attracted 17% more middle to high income visitors than in 2005, and over half of the respondents said they were likely to visit Scotland again.

The net impact on the local economy was slightly lower than in 2005, with natural factors such as the population of the county, the availability of accommodation and local attractions all affecting the figures.

The overall injection of money into the Scottish economy was £26 million, only slightly lower than the impact of the 2005 Open and despite the reported 28.8% decline in spectator attendance.

Among the trends identified in the study were:

The overall impact remained similar due to higher per capita expenditure and an increase in the proportion of overseas visitors;

The local impact was reduced last year due to infrastructural limits in the county, especially with respect to accommodation;

Average per capita spectator expenditure was higher due to a change in spectator profile, which comprised a higher proportion of middle and high income groups;

Overseas visitors stayed longer and spent 4.5 times more than national visitors.

In a report on the study to be presented to councillors tomorrow, Angus Council’s director of infrastructure service Eric Lowson says the figures confirm the importance of the Open to the local economy and to continuing marketing activities through the Carnoustie Country campaign that exploits the profile the Open brings to the area.

Activities carried out following the competition illustrate the work being done to capitalise on the event and to exploit golf as a flagship for tourism development.