Tourism leaders ‘optimistic' £213m Open boost ‘will be fully realised' and that tournament makes quick return

Belfast Telegraph

5 days ago

It comes as Tourism NI chiefs said they are hopeful it won't be too long before the major returns to these shores.
As the dust settles on a successful eight days on the north coast, the Causeway Chamber said it estimates that 278,000 people attended the tournament, making it the largest Open held outside of St Andrews in Scotland.
Academics from Sheffield Hallam University's Sport Industry Research Centre carried out an independent forecast predicting an overall economic impact of around £213m for the region.
The Causeway Chamber thinks that figure is right on the money.
'The 153rd Open has once again placed Portrush and the Causeway coast firmly on the world stage,' a spokesperson told the Belfast Telegraph.
'With attendance tracking to meet the impressive figure of 278,000, we are optimistic that the projected economic impact of £63 million — along with an additional £150 million in global media value — will be fully realised across Northern Ireland.
'Locally, businesses have felt the immediate benefit, and the legacy continues. With a six-week derig period now underway, contractors and R&A personnel remain in the area, staying in local accommodation and enjoying our hospitality offerings.
'This extended presence provides a welcome and sustained boost to our economy, especially for the hospitality, tourism, and service sectors.
'We are proud to have supported such a world-class event and thank all those who contributed to its success.
'The Open has once again showcased what this region has to offer — and the long-term benefits will be felt well beyond the closing putt.'
With limited accommodation in Portrush sold out well in advance of the event, many visitors stayed further afield — including Belfast — and commuted to the north coast over four days of practice and a further four days of competition.
Translink confirmed more than 200,000 people used its services in a week of 'unprecedented' demand.
Businesses in Portrush and beyond enjoyed bumper trade with some bars running out of beer.
Tourism NI is 'confident' the £213m figure has been achieved amid speculation that other global events could soon be coming to Northern Ireland. When The Open came to Royal Portrush Golf Club in 2019 following a 70-year absence, tournament organisers committed to staging it at the course at least two more times.
Aine Kearney from Tourism NI said they hope the world's top golfers will be returning soon.
'We've had really positive engagement with senior people in the R&A and they just told us how well it's gone,' she said.
'And we hope that puts us in a really good place in terms of them coming back as quickly as they did after 2019.
'It's been an outstanding success and I think that's been echoed by the R&A. We've heard the same from the golfers and all the visitors that have come to experience not only the golf but also the destination. The feedback has been absolutely fabulous in terms of how successful it's been, and how much we've been able to shine a light on Northern Ireland as a fabulous destination.'
One of the main reasons NI has been unable to attract major sporting events is that there is not a stadium here with more than 20,000 seats.
The long-awaited redevelopment of Casement Park will see a 30,000-capacity stadium built, but full funding to get the project off the ground is not currently in place and it is unclear when it will be.
Delays in the redevelopment have already resulted Northern Ireland missing out on hosting Euro 2028 matches.
There was a previous bid for the island of Ireland to host part of the Tour de France in 2026 or 2027, but this fell through.
There was also a bid for the island to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but it instead went to France.
The lack of stadium seating does not affect golf however and Ms Kearney said many will feel the economic bounce.
'What we do know is that there were a lot of people playing golf while they were here,' she said.
'The reports we have from all of our golf clubs is that their tee time sales were unbelievable and that puts them in a really good position, not only from the income they got from that to be able to continue to invest in their product, but also the advocacy that will come from the people that played.
'Hopefully, from that advocacy and the 100 million viewers across 190 countries that saw not only the world's best golfers playing, but also the magic of the landscape and the destination... we will look to see a similar increase to what we saw on the back of 2019, that was a 66% increase to £86 million.
'If we get that similar bounce again, we'll be very, very happy.'