TOUR DE FRANCE GRAND DÉPART YORKSHIRE

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1 TOUR DE FRANCE GRAND DÉPART YORKSHIRE Economic Impact Assessment Report for Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council New Economy 28 September 2012 New Economy 1

2 1 Introduction 1.1 Welcome to Yorkshire are coordinating a bid to bring the Grand Départ of the Tour de France to the UK. The bid would see the first two stages of the Tour running through Yorkshire with a third stage in the South of England. 1.2 One proposed stage runs for 191 km (119m) from Leeds to Scarborough through the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks, with the second proposed stage running 186 km (116m) from York to Sheffield, through the Pennines and the Peak District National Park, with over a fifth of the route passing through Calderdale and around a tenth passing through Rochdale. 1.3 This report provides an economic impact assessment of the benefits to Yorkshire and Calderdale from hosting the Tour de France based on the information currently available drawing from economic impact assessments undertaken for other overseas stages of the Tour de France. As the programme develops and further information becomes available, this economic impact assessment can be refined and updated if required. 2 Significance of the Tour 2.1 The Tour de France is one of the oldest, most important and iconic sporting events in the world, being run since Is the most watched annual sporting event in the world, and third only after the Olympics and the football World Cup. 2.2 Economic analysis by Rotterdam hosts of the 2010 Grand Départ found that 3,860 hours were broadcast in over 180 countries, with a total of 3 billion TV viewers worldwide, involving 632 media organisations and 1,800 journalists. 2.3 Rotterdam estimated that over 10 million spectators watched the 2010 Tour from the roadside over its 21 days of racing, though some estimates put Tour attendace even higher, at 15 million. 2.4 Twenty-two teams of nine riders, a total of 198, contested the 2012 Tour, and these riders are accompanied by a large team of supporting personnel, plus the organisers and officials of the Tour itself. In addition, the sponsors, and their publicity caravan, which precedes the riders along the route of the race itself, and the media, mean around 4,500 people in 2,400 vehicles accompany the Tour every day, requiring accommodation, food & drink, fuel, and generating other spend in the economy. 2.5 As a result, cities and regions, within France and overseas, are keen to attract the Tour de France to pass through. For example, Rotterdam invested 12million [ 9.5M] to attract the 2010 Grand Départ, but their research suggests they secured a 35 40million [ 28 32M] return on their investment, with a total of 1million visitors, all hotels in the Rotterdam region booked for a week solid, 800 campers, and massive worldwide TV exposure. New Economy 2

3 2.6 British interest in the event is at an all-time high, with Bradley Wiggins becoming the first ever British winner of the Tour this year, Chris Froome coming second, and the World Champion Mark Cavendish winning three stages, including the iconic final sprint on the Champs-Élysées for a fourth year in a row. The race was dominated by the UK s Sky team, with Wiggins leading the race from Stage 7, and sparking record viewing figures in the UK. 2.7 This comes on the back of a renaissance of cycling in UK, with participation in cycling for sport, leisure and transport at record levels, and British success on the road and the track a real highlight of the London 2012 Olympics. 3 Economic Impact of the Tour 3.1 There are two main impacts that will accrue to Calderdale and the rest of Yorkshire from hosting the Tour de France: - The direct impact of the Tour passing through the region since the race itself is free to attend, the impact comes from the expenditure of visitors coming to the Tour. This includes the teams and organisation of the Tour itself, the media, and spectators, with spend on accommodation, food & drink, and other items, both for the event itself and those encouraged to extend their stay in the region. - The wider promotional and tourism benefit of hosting the Tour, in terms of advertising equivalent spend, the general promotion of the region, and attracting new visitors to the region as a result of the profile of the Tour. Spectators Numbers and Expenditure 3.2 The numbers of spectators likely to attend the Tour can be estimated by looking at overall spectator numbers, previous stages held overseas, and other similar events, such as the London 2012 Olympic Road Race, as shown in Figure 3.1. It is possible to derive average spectator density at these events based on the total kilometres of road covered by the races. This shows that average spectator density appears to be higher for overseas stages than within France itself, reflecting the special nature of a Tour visit; and that spectator density is higher within cities than cross-country. Table 3.1: Tour de France Spectator Numbers No. of spectators (approx) Race distance (km) Average spectators/km Tour de France (total) 10M 15M London 2007 TdF Grand Départ London Prologue London Stage 1 Kent Stage 1 Rotterdam 2010 TdF Grand Départ London 2012 Olympics Men s Road Race 1.35M 900, , , ,000 3,497* ^ 126ª 2,860 4, ,886 48,649 4,065 51,183 3,968 New Economy 3

4 * 2012 route ^ Prologue plus Stage 1 passing through Rotterdam ª Distance of road covered by race, not total race distance, which included 9 loops over Box Hill Source: Tour de France, Transport for London, Rotterdam, LOCOG 3.3 For Yorkshire, it can be expected that crowd density will increase in the towns and cities along the route, particularly in the start and finish locations of Leeds, Scarborough, York, and Sheffield. However, there can also be expected to be higher crowd densities on the ascents of the main climbs en route, with Calderdale s location in the South Pennines making it a key location. For the purposes of analysis, an average spectator density of 4,000 per kilometre is assumed, which is at the upper end of the Tour de France total, but matches the average for the Olympic Road Race, which ran through both London and the Surrey countryside, and the average for the Kent section of Stage 1 of the 2007 Tour de France. 3.4 Table 3.2 shows that in total Yorkshire can expect to attract over 1.5M spectators to the two proposed stages of the Tour de France, of which around 160,000 will be in Calderdale and 60,000 in Rochdale. Table 3.2: Forecast Spectators for Tour de France Yorkshire Leeds Scarborough York Sheffield Yorkshire total Calderdale Rochdale Stage distance (km) Spectators* 764, ,000 1,508, ,000 60,000 * Based on average density of 4,000 spectators per km Source: Welcome to Yorkshire, New Economy 3.5 Following the 2007 Grand Départ, Transport for London (TfL) produced an analysis of its impact, drawing from extensive survey work amongst attendees, split between spectators in London and Kent. Rotterdam undertook a similar exercise following the 2010 Grand Départ. The TfL analysis of spectator expenditure in Kent is used here as it is survey based and most comparable to Yorkshire and Calderdale, and are provided in Table 3.3. Table 3.3: Analysis of Spectator Expenditure in Kent for 2007 Tour % Spectators* Expenditure/day ( ) Commercial accommodation 13% Staying with family/friends 7% Day visitors 20% Local residents 61% 9.42 Average * NB total does not sum due to rounding Source: TfL 3.6 Assuming a similar spectator profile and impact for Yorkshire as for Kent, applying the breakdown of spectator expenditure in Table 3.3 to the forecast spectator numbers from Table 3.2 suggests that the gross total spectator expenditure in Yorkshire could reach nearly 30M, of which over a tenth would accrue to Calderdale and over 1M to Rochdale. Table 3.4: Forecast Total Spectator Expenditure for Tour de France Yorks. New Economy 4

5 Leeds Scarborough York Sheffield Yorkshire total Calderdale Rochdale 14,530,287 14,149,913 28,680,200 3,042,992 1,141,122 Source: TfL, New Economy 3.7 In addition, the Tour itself has other events around its start, including the team presentation, Tour rides, and other associated events, that will also bring visitors into the Yorkshire. It is expected that this events will be centred upon Leeds though will also spread around the region. As this programme of events is not yet known, an economic impact estimate is not undertaken here but can be produced as the programme is further developed. Team & Organisational Expenditure 3.8 The organisation and operation of the Tour itself is a major undertaking, involving twenty-two teams of nine riders, a total of 198, accompanied by a large team of supporting personnel, plus the organisers and officials of the Tour itself. In addition, the sponsors, and their publicity caravan, which precedes the riders along the route of the race itself, and the media, mean around 4,500 people in 2,400 vehicles accompany the Tour every day, requiring accommodation, food & drink, fuel, and generating other spend in the economy. 3.9 Rotterdam calculated that this expenditure over the 2010 Grand Départ which is broken down in Table 3.5 and converted into pounds sterling at current exchange rates. Table 3.5: Team & Organisation Expenditure in Rotterdam for 2010 Tour Expenditure ( M) A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation)* 0.9M Teams 0.6M Journalists 0.6M Total 2.1M * A.S.O. are the organisers of the Tour and this category of spend appears to include all the officials and sponsors expenditure as well as that of the organisers themselves Source: Rotterdam 3.10 It is reasonable to expect a similar level of expenditure within the city or cities that the teams and organisers chose to stay over the Grand Départ. This is likely to be Leeds, which is the biggest city with the most capacity, and is the proposed start of Stage 1 and very close to York, the proposed start of Stage 2. These expenditure levels assume the teams and organisers stay for two night proceeding Stage 1 to cover the team presentation, and so on, plus the night after Stage 1, moving onto the South of England for the night preceding Stage 3. Again, a more detailed economic impact assessment can be undertaken once the programme for the Grand Départ is developed. Additional Visitor Uplift 3.11 A survey undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism in France in 2003 found that the Tour de France results in 15% 30% more visitors for the weeks after a Tour stage compared to a year without the Tour. Welcome to Yorkshire s research shows that there are 216million visits to Yorkshire each year. If this additional New Economy 5

6 boost to tourism happened over the quarter following the Grand Départ, then at least an additional 8 16million visitors would be attracted to Yorkshire Given that the Tour occurs in June at the beginning of the summer holidays, the peak visitor season, in reality the boost is likely to be even higher than this. Additional economic impact work could be done with Welcome to Yorkshire using their detailed visitor profiles for the region and its sub-regions, and the breakdown over the year. The results from this analysis could then be fed into their tourism model to understand likely net additional expenditure in Yorkshire by place and type. Media Exposure 3.13 The main secondary benefit of hosting the Tour de France is the extensive worldwide TV and media exposure the event generates. Rotterdam, for example, across the four days of events associated with the 2010 Grand Départ secured: - 17million TV viewers worldwide - 4.8million viewers watching live - 18hour TV broadcast - 50minutes of aerial TV shots 3.14 Transport for London estimated the impact of media coverage for London and Kent from the 2007 Grand Départ from the approximately 20,000 articles and news items generated from the beginning of 2006 until end August 2007 at 35million Yorkshire can expect to receive similar benefits from hosting the Tour de France, and for Calderdale, it provides a positive global TV and online exposure that otherwise would not be available to the area. Again once the Grand Départ programme is developed and further information about the extent of TV coverage becomes apparent, this data can the used by Welcome to Yorkshire to generate advertising equivalent values of the coverage if desired. Other Benefits 3.16 The other main benefits attributed to hosting the Tour de France are a legacy for the development of cycling as a sport, for leisure, and for commuting. Calderdale already has a number of initiatives in this area, which the Tour de France would help to promote and encourage, including: - West Yorkshire s 450,000 Go Cycling project to provide free cycle training, events and guided rides for adults over the next three years - Calderdale Bikeability scheme delivering 1,500 level 1 and 2 places and 100 level 3 places to children and young people every year for the next three years 3.17 This type of legacy was a key outcome for Rotterdam, which became a City of Cycling around the 2010 Grand Départ, seeing cycle use increasing from 20% New Economy 6

7 to 25%, ownership also increasing by 5 percentage points to 79%, and bike rack space provided for 1,500 additional bikes. Rotterdam also became a City of Fitness, training 87 professional coaches, providing 1,740 hours of extra cycle training, and providing clinics to a variety of target groups Similarly for London, which was already seeing a big growth in cycling, surveys indicated that just over half of those attending the Tour were more likely to cycle as a result, particularly for leisure, and 20% interviewed had already cycled more than the previous year, whilst 11% had taken up cycling since then. Those most likely to cycle more included younger women, people aged 16 34, and those in social classes ABC1. British Cycling Go Ride Come and Try It sessions also successfully attracted young people in London and Kent with little or no experience of cycling. 4 Conclusions 4.1 The Tour de France is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and bringing the event to Yorkshire will deliver a number of benefits that significantly outweigh the 160,000 contribution from the Council to secure the Tour, including: - 1.5million spectators across Yorkshire for the race - 160,000 of these in Calderdale - Visitor expenditure of 28.7million - 3million of which will be in Calderdale - 2.1million of expenditure by the teams and organisation of the Tour in Yorkshire - A 15% 30% uplift in visitors in the weeks following the Tour across Yorkshire and in Calderdale - 17million worldwide TV viewers - A legacy of increased cycling for sport, leisure and commuting New Economy 7

8 5 Key References - Desbordes, Michel (ISC Business School & University Marc Bloch, FRA) A Review of the Economic Impact Studies Done on the Tour de France: Methodological Aspects and First Results - Real Analytics (1 July 2009) The Economic Impact of The Tour De France - Rotterdam (2010) Rotterdam host city: Grand Départ Social Research Associates (October 2007) The Tour de France The Grand Depart 2007: Research Summary, report to Transport for London - New Economy 8

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