NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                17 July 2001 

SURVEY REVEALS HUGE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CYCLE TOUR

The 35-thousand entrants in the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour earlier this year spent R66 million in Cape Town, according to a impact study carried out by the Cycle Tour and the City of Cape Town Council. 

If travel to and from the city is included, the direct economic benefit of the Tour – one of the star attractions on the Cape of Great Events Calendar - is conservatively estimated at R125,2 million.

 The survey conducted by an independent research firm included interviews with a core group of 300 cyclists reflecting the gender and geographic split of the entrants. 

Interestingly, 60 per cent or 21-thousand entrants were from outside the Western Cape and 3,6 per cent were foreigners. 

A breakdown of spending patterns reveals that 44 per cent stayed with family or friends while 56 per cent needed other accommodation in the city. Including support teams of 2,1 people per rider, the event attracted a total of 65 000 additional people to Cape Town, accounting for 198 000 bed-nights.

 According to the survey, cyclists spent R16,5 million on accommodation, R26,2 million on air travel, R13,5 million on eating out, R11,3 million in supermarkets, R12,6 million on cycle spares and R5,2 million on entertainment. 

The City of Cape Town Council’s Executive Committee member responsible for Economic Development, Tourism and Property, Councillor Kent Morkel, said the survey proved that the Cycle Tour and other major events were important engines in the economic development strategy of the Council. 

“We need to learn from this survey how the event can be improved and whether other side-events attached to the Tour could attract even more people to the city,” he said. “The Council will continue to develop its great events strategy as part of our overall programme to enhance economic opportunities and create jobs for all our communities.” 

Pat Lennox, Head of the Events Office of Council, said the Tour was once again an unqualified success in terms of its socio-economic impacts on the region and the city.                              

“The Council supports events like the Cycle Tour, the Two Oceans Marathon, the North Sea Jazz Festival and others because they bring a major economic injection,” he said. “They also enhance the image of the city as a top tourist and events destination.” 

“There are very few national or international events in South Africa that have this kind of positive impact on the economy of a region,” said Lennox.

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