The importance of foreign spectators’ expenditure in the tourism impact of mega-sporting events

Abstract

Many economic impact studies assessed that mega-sporting events can have an influence on the level of economic activity of the host territory. The attraction of many tourists is usually at the centre of the analysis. During the Rugby World Cup 2007 in France, foreign spectators are at the root of most of the economic impact on French regions, with significant differences depending on their nationalities and their sociodemographic profiles. It thus appears that the regional impact of the event is even stronger since the host matches have attracted many foreign spectators with a high level of income and expenditure.