2012 Open to generate 17% more revenue

This summer’s Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire is expected to generate 17 per cent more revenue for the club’s surrounding area than the Open at Royal St George’s Golf Club in Kent in 2011 brought in. However it will still be 10 per cent less than the economic impact of the 2010 tournament.

Royal Lytham & St Annes’ local council, Fylde, is capitalising on the opportunity by producing a number of glossy magazines which will be distributed nationwide and through local hotels.

Councillor Sue Fazackerley said: “It is a huge opportunity and the challenge for us is to build on it for the benefit of Fylde.

“We have refreshed the Visit Lytham St Annes website and produced magazines that will be distributed across the country. In January alone the website had 14,000 visitors – and that will build as the Open gets closer.

“In the last week alone the town hall has fielded inquiries about accommodation from as far afield as South Africa and Sweden.

“There will also be inward investment days on the golf course to tell visitors about the attractions of setting up businesses here. Other visitors will be able to visit an exhibition at the course about the tourist attractions of the area.

“Work on the town centres is well under way to give visitors a good first impression and money has been set aside to improve St Annes, Ansdell and Lytham train stations.

“The Open is a major opportunity for Fylde to show its best face to the world.”

Research by Sheffield Hallam University’s Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) shows an anticipated £90m benefit to the north west economy due to television coverage and nearly 200,000 visitors. Last year’s Open brought in £77m while the 2010 Open at St Andrews brought in £100m to the local area.

The SIRC research, commissioned by The R&A, claims a direct economic benefit to Lancashire of £35.1m. Global television exposure will be worth an estimated £52.6m in promotional advertising.

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