OPEN AT CARNOUSTIE DELIVERED £120 MILLION

 

OF ECONOMIC BENEFIT TO SCOTLAND

 

R AND A NEWS RELEASE

The 147th Open at Carnoustie generated a £120 million benefit to Scotland, according to an independent study revealed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today.

The Open attracted a record 172,000 fans in July this year and delivered an economic impact of £69 million, according to the study by Sheffield Hallam University’s Sport Industry Research Centre.  

Scotland also benefited from £51 million in destination marketing activity thanks to The Open being broadcast on television to more than 600 million households in 193 countries worldwide.

The study - which was commissioned by golf’s governing body The R&A, VisitScotland and Angus Council - also concluded that the Angus area alone received a £21 million injection of new money from The Open.

Almost half of the spectators who attended The Open (49.8%) travelled from outwith Scotland, while the overwhelming majority of Scottish fans (84.8%) came from outside Angus. The research found 62% of non-Angus residents indicated they would return to the region for a break within 12 months.

The Open is golf’s original championship and it is held in Scotland more often than any other country. The tournament was being played at Carnoustie for the first time since 2007 and this year’s attendance surpassed the 157,000 total set in 1999. 

A key aim of The R&A is to attract a younger audience to the Championship, and more than 20,000 spectators under the age of 25 attended this year. 

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “The Open has a proven track record of generating substantial economic benefit for the host country in which it is staged thanks to the tens of thousands of spectators who attend each year. 

+St Andrews hosts the Open every five years.