Benefits of major events discussed

3:50pm Tuesday 12th November 2013 in News

MAJOR EVENT: The Red Bull Cliff Diving generated an estimated £684,545 for Pembrokeshire

A REPORT outlining the benefits major events have on Pembrokeshire was due to be discussed today (Tuesday).

The document by the Director of Development has been produced for the Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee, following a request from members at the last meeting on September 12.

It looks at the numerous benefits of events, specifically on the Pembrokeshire’s tourism industry.
The report states: “Events are an important and growing element in promoting Pembrokeshire.

They represent a major opportunity to target and attract additional visitors and capture the related expenditure. Events provide an opportunity to attract visitors who would not normally consider Pembrokeshire as a holiday destination, as well as encourage previous visitors to return or to make repeated visits.”

Among the major events listed are Narberth Food Festival, Fishguard Folk Festival, Pembrokeshire County Show, the Long Course Weekend, the Really Wild Food and Countryside Festival, the Tour of Pembrokeshire and Tenby Blues Festival.

In depth analysis is provided on three major events in particular; Ironman, Red Bull Cliff Diving and Pembrokeshire Fish Week.

The 2011 Ironman event generated £3.5 million of economic benefits for the county, with 1,478 competitors taking part. 54 per cent of those surveyed came to the area prior to race week for training and to look at the course, and during that time spent the best part of £800,000 on food and accommodation. TV coverage around the world also reached a potential audience of 37 million.

The 2012 Red Bull Cliff Diving event generated an estimated £684,545 for Pembrokeshire. Media coverage for the World Series saw more than 1,000 articles printed and 2,655 TV reports. The total potential global audience was 634 million people.

Research carried out at the 2013 Pembrokeshire Fish Week estimated the direct economic impact was more than £2.5 million. 32 per cent of people attending the event were visitors and 54 per cent said the festival was the main influence of partly influenced them to visit Pembrokeshire.

The report also looks at event strategies for Wales and Pembrokeshire, the county council’s involvement in events, and the Pembrokeshire Events Information Project.

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