Tourism Spending and Mega Sporting Events

A new Visa report shows the effects of mega-sporting events and the impact they have on tourism spending in the event host countries.

The report analyzes Visa cardholder spending patterns, known as VisaVue Travel data, of three recent mega-events: 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games.

According to the report, events of this scale create significant increases in expenditure and give host counties a chance to shine on the global stage.

For each of the three events analyzed, there was healthy growth in Visa payment card expenditure during the event compared to the year prior:

• 82% for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
• 93% for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games
• 15% for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

“These three events have been catalysts of economic recovery for the host country and nations surrounding it in terms of international tourism spending. Electronic payments play a crucial role in facilitating this sustainable tourism growth. They ease the difficulties travelers face when making purchases in other countries,” said Antonio Lucio, Visa’s chief marketing officer.

Olympic Games

One of the key factors for any Olympic host city and country is the legacy that is left behind. It is critical for countries to be in a position to leverage the global attention events like the Olympic Games can generate as well as maximize investments made in preparation for the influx of inbound travelers.

• In Beijing, visitors from the U.S., Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan accounted for more than half of all Visa card spend in China from 8-25 August 2008. During that period, there were approximately 840,000 Visa transactions with an average daily spend of $10.6 million from international cardholders.

• Vancouver experienced double digit growth in the total tourism spending by inbound Visa cardholders during the months of February and March compared to the same time period in 2009. In the heart of the Games, from 12-28 February, there were approximately 1.14 million Visa transactions, with an average daily spend of $7.2 million from international cardholders.

FIFA World Cup

Daily Visa payment card expenditures made by all non-South Africans while in South Africa during the period from 1 June 2010 until 31 July 2010 were compared to similar data for the same two month period in 2009. As the FIFA World Cup itself lasted from 11 June to 11 July 2010, the data set provided comparative information for 10 days before and 20 days after the Cup.

According to this data, the FIFA World Cup provided a platform for South Africa to showcase their nation to the world, up-leveling their global status and tourism levels increased throughout the year. While the FIFA World Cup played a significant role in the growth experienced in June and July, visitor arrivals were amplified all year.

Spending levels by international Visa cardholders traveling to South Africa in December ($220M) and January ($200M) even rivaled the June ($222M) and July ($204M) World Cup months.

According to Burke, “What is particularly encouraging is the strong indication that in the mega-sporting events analyzed for this report, tourism-related spending increased substantially during the events and far beyond any increases that can be attributed to economic recovery only. This report looks to use electronic data generated from international Visa spend transactions as a way to assess visitor spending patterns in the hope that it can provide material that can help destinations in their own planning, bidding and hosting activities.”

Since 1986, Visa has been a Worldwide Sponsor of the Olympic Games and will be the exclusive payment services sponsor and the only card accepted at match venues through 2020, including the London 2012 Olympic Games, the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea and the 2020 Olympic Summer Games whose site has yet to be selected.

Visa is also one of six global FIFA Partners with global rights in the Financial Services product category to all FIFA World Cup activities. Following its debut as an official sponsor at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, Visa’s FIFA sponsorship includes the rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.

See also: Hong Kong Sevens: It’s Not Just Rugby!

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