Cheltenham Festival "brings £274m to local economy"
Racecourse makes the claim ahead of this year's event
Last year's Cheltenham Festival brought an estimated £274 million to the local economy according to research released today by the racecourse.
The calculations have been done by the University of Gloucestershire and show the figure's getting on for three times the estimate for the event in 2016.
The study which was carried out online, asking attendees about their spending found the following:
• The total economic impact (direct and indirect) of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival is estimated at £274 million – up from an estimate of around £100 million when the project was last undertaken in 2016.
• More than half of racegoers make a return trip to and from Cheltenham on the day they attend The Festival.
• Of those not making a return trip to the town, about a third of attendees arrive a day or more before The Festival and stay at least a day or more after the festival.
• The average expenditure of attendees at The Festival increased from £584 in 2016 to £697 in 2022.
• Attending The Festival was on the 'bucket list of things to do' for two-thirds of the participants (67%), and more than half (53%) of respondents 'always or usually attend' The Festival.
Ian Renton, the MD for the The Jockey Club in the West said: "We welcomed a record crowd of 280,627 over the four days of The Festival in 2022 and it is very satisfying to see that have such a tremendously beneficial effect on the wider economy in the Cheltenham area.
"Our links with the local community are strong and earlier this week we announced an enhanced version of the ‘Love Our Turf’ campaign at The Festival to put engagement with and the needs of our local residents and businesses at the heart of the event.
"I would like to thank everyone at the University of Gloucestershire who worked on this project – it has provided us with so many useful insights to help us plan for future Festivals.”
Dr Charles Afriyie, Senior Lecturer in Accounting at University of Gloucestershire added: "The project undertaken by the University of Gloucestershire in 2016 was the first time the impact of the Cheltenham Festival on the local economy had been properly researched and analysed.
“Seven years later, it is fascinating to see how The Festival has continued to grow, including in its beneficial effect on the economy in the Cheltenham locality.
“We hope our project will prove useful for Cheltenham Racecourse in its planning for the years ahead.”
This year's event takes place from Tuesday 14th to Friday 17th March.