What are Basic Economic Impacts?

• Number of spectators
• Number of attendees (non-spectators)
• Percentage of spectators and attendees from outside the 'host economy'
• Duration of event

Overview & Considerations

The basic economic impacts listed here are primarily measures which are both relatively simple to capture and give a broad indication of the potential scale of an event’s economic impact. The actual process and key stages to be used in determining a robust economic impact figure is dealt with in the Intermediate Economic Impact section.

Whilst good economic impact measurement requires intermediate-level assessment (involving surveys of people’s spending patterns), the basic measurements listed here have been shown to be relatively strong indicators of economic impact. For example, research conducted in the UK has consistently shown that the key determinant of total economic impact is the number of spectators attending an event. This is highlighted in the resource guidance below.

• Organisers/Funders may be involved with a large number of events and may not be able to afford to conduct attendee surveys at all of them.
• The organisers of an annual event may have conducted a full economic impact assessment involving spectator surveys for several years. The organisers may decide that they have enough historical data to make certain assumptions around the spending patterns associated with a typical event, and may choose to rely on basic impacts alone.

Routes to Measurement

All of the basic economic impacts listed here relate to measuring attendance at the event. There is a separate section of eventIMPACTS dealing specifically with Attendance which can be found here. Alternatively links to the specific guidance documents regarding measuring attendance can be found below.