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Rugby World Cup 2003 - the short-term impact on the Australia economy


This article re-presents findings of a report of the private sector consultancy firm URS Finance and Economics, produced for the Australian Government Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (June 2004).

Overview

The Rugby World Cup (RWC) was held in Australia from 10 October to 22 November 2003. The tournament has been described as the largest international sporting event of 2003 and the largest sporting event to be held in Australia since the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The tournament was the fifth RWC and the second staged in Australia.

In the tournament 20 teams competed in a total of 48 matches including 40 pool matches and eight finals. These matches were spread across 11 venues in 10 cities around Australia.

Based on the data collected from various key RWC stakeholders, the key short-term economic impact results indicate that:

• 1.8 million spectators attended matches.

• 65,000 international visitors visited Australia primarily as a result of the RWC.

• Nearly $200m in ticket sales were generated.

• $494m in additional industry sales were generated, particularly in trade and hotels, finance and business services and recreational services industries. New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland gained the majority of RWC industry sales.

• Almost 4,500 additional full and part-time jobs were created, primarily in trade and hotels, finance and business services and recreational services industries. New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland also gained the majority share of these short-term full and part-time jobs.

• $55m in additional Commonwealth government revenue was provided (before grants paid to state governments).

• $289m in additional gross domestic product was contributed to the Australian economy with New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland gaining the majority of this additional economic activity.

• players and associated staff totalling almost 800 persons (42 per team with the Australian team excluded);

• match officials totalling 25 from overseas; and

• VIP overseas rugby guests totalling 250.

21.24 INTERNATIONAL VISITORS, By origin
Region	Key countries	Rugby supporters	Media	Corporate	Total
United Kingdom/Europe	England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Italy and Wales	28,200	1,094	2,500	31,794
New Zealand/Asia Pacific(a)	New Zealand, Japan, Fiji, Tonga, Hong Kong and Singapore	18,600	813	-	19,413
Africa	South Africa and Namibia	10,200	438	-	10,638
Americas	Canada , USA and Argentina	3,000	155	-	3,155
Total		(b)60,000	2,500	2,500	65,000
(a) Based on information provided by the Qantas and the ARU, visitors from New Zealand/Asia Pacific were estimated at approximately 15,000 and visitors from Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore 4,413. (b) Of the 60,000 rugby supporters, it was assumed that approximately 40,000 of these travelled to Australia via 'RWC packages' while the remaining 20,000 were able to obtain tickets from family and friends in Australia and to a lesser extent obtain flights and RWC tickets only. Source: URS Finance and Economics 2004.

21.25 AVERAGE TRIP EXPENDITURE BY INTERNATIONAL VISITORS(a)
	Total visitors	Average expenditure per visit 2003	Average length of stay	Average total daily expenditure	Total trip expenditure
Region	no.	$	nights	$	$m
United Kingdom/Europe	31,794	8,302	36	230	256.1
New Zealand/Asia Pacific	19,413	3,153	15	210	59.2
Africa	10,638	6,260	24	260	64.5
Americas	3,155	6,741	22	306	20.6
Total	65,000	. .	. .	. .	400.4
(a) URS has incorporated the assumption of some international visitors reducing expenditure in relation to visitors staying with family and friends totalling $12.2m. In addition, URS has also assumed a BTR average length of stay to calculate total average trip expenditure. Source: URS Finance and Economics 2004.

21.26 INTERSTATE TICKET PURCHASES, VISITORS AND EXPENDITURE
	Tickets purchased(a)	Interstate visitors(b)	Average expenditure per visit(c)	Interstate visitor expenditure
Game location	no.	no.	$	$'000
New South Wales	66,916	49,948	1,015	47,785
Victoria	61,271	43,284	1,005	41,439
Queensland	64,216	42,153	705	28,352
South Australia	14,797	7,789	1,007	7,483
Western Australia	19,856	9,261	1,446	12,789
Tasmania	1,535	1,535	698	1,014
Australian Capital Territory	27,218	25,760	566	3,764
Total	255,808	179,730	-	142,625
(a) To remove domestic ticket purchases made for international visitors an estimate provided by an ARU survey of approximately 9% was deducted. (b) Number of visitors was calculated using the number of tickets and adjusting it for 'double headers' where people attended a number of games in the same weekend. (c) NSW people attending RWC matches in the ACT were assumed to spend $188 per trip. Source: URS Finance and Economics 2004.

21.27 ESTIMATED IMPACT ON INDUSTRY SALES, EMPLOYMENT AND GOVERNMENT FINANCES
			Government finances
	Impact on industry sales	Employment(a)	Revenue(b)	Expenditure(c)
State/Government	$m	no.	$m	$m
New South Wales	411	3,595	19	34
Victoria	48	428	8	7
Queensland	22	303	6	8
South Australia	-	27	3	1
Western Australia	4	65	3	2
Tasmania	-5	-46	1	-
Northern Territory	-2	-16	1	-
Australian Capital Territory	16	121	-	3
Commonwealth Government	-	-	55	(b)55
Total	494	4,476	96	110
(a) Estimates of employment are in terms of full and part time jobs and should be treated with some caution. (b) Includes Commonwealth grants to the states. (c) Includes state subsidies paid to RWC. Source: URS Finance and Economics 2004.