Total Economic Event Impacts

A queue of people outside a ticket office

Total economic impact differs from direct economic impact in that it also includes the ‘secondary impacts’ of event-related spending that has positive indirect and induced effects on the host economy.

Indirect economic impact reflects the additional value generated for the host economy by businesses in the event supply chain spending increases in revenue earned from visitors and organisers.

Induced economic impact is derived from additional spending in the host economy that results from any event-driven increase in its residents’ incomes. 

What to measure

The OECD and ASOIF recommend using the following measures to understand an event’s total economic impact:

  • Indirect economic impact
  • Induced economic impact
  • The event’s impact on GDP
  • Net injection into the host economy (direct, indirect and induced economic impacts)

The OECD considers these impacts to contribute towards the UN SDG Decent Work and Economic Growth (Target 8.1).

Total economic impact: How to measure it

An event’s total economic impact is the sum of its direct, indirect and induced impacts.

 

Diagram illustrating the Total Economic Impact of an event. It includes Direct Economic Impact, which is broken down into Additional Visitor Spend and Net Organiser Spend. It also includes Indirect & Induced Impacts, showing the broader economic benefits generated by the event.

We calculate indirect and induced impacts by using standard multipliers to extrapolate their value from the direct impacts already assessed.

These multipliers are generally based on official datasets of input-output tables and household spending data. Input-output tables show the flow of goods and services across an economy and can be used to calculate the extent to which spending in one sector can generate value in another.

For context, total economic impact is often reported as a percentage of Gross Value Added (GVA) or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at local or national level. It should be measured by professional research organisations with expertise in the analysis of complex economic data.

Resources

  • Overview of The Economic Impact Calculation >

    Economic impact is an important consideration when bidding to secure major events, particularly in cases where organisations seek support from the public sector to help fund staging costs ...

  • Calculating the Total Economic Impact Step 6 >

    Using the direct economic impact from steps 1-5 to calculate the total economic impact ...

  • Estimates of GVA per workforce job and expenditure to GVA ratios for regions and nations of the UK >

    Find out more information about GVA ...

  • Reporting on Economic Impact >

    It is important that any economic impact findings are presented in a transparent manner that allows the reader to trace how the results have been derived ...

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