- 11% increase compared to Paris 2018
- 271,000 people from 100 different countries attended Italy’s first Ryder Cup
The 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome boosted economic activity in Italy by €262million, according to an independent report.
The figure, a record for a Ryder Cup held in Europe, is an 11% increase on the €235million generated in 2018 when the biennial contest was held at Le Golf National in Paris, France.
Researchers from Sheffield Hallam University’s Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) took into account spending by all spectators and other event attendees, plus all organisational spending, including by Federazione Italiana Golf (FIG) on the course and infrastructure upgrades, as well as other indirect or induced spending.
More than 271,000 people from 100 different countries attended last year’s contest at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, where Europe, led by Captain Luke Donald, reclaimed the Ryder Cup with a 16½ -11½ victory against the United States. It was the first-time the Ryder Cup had been held in Italy, which became only the third country in continental Europe to host the biennial contest, following Spain in 1997 and France in 2018.
Other key findings from the report include:
· Spectators staying in paid accommodation in Rome during Ryder Cup week generated in excess of 318,000 commercial bed-nights, which was worth €34million in revenue for the local accommodation sector.
· There was €72million in non-accommodation related expenditure by spectators.
· Around 19% of event-specific visitors to Rome decided to extend their visit prior to or following the event.
· Almost two-thirds of international spectators who visited for the event expressed a desire to return to Italy for leisure purposes in the next year, fuelled by their Ryder Cup experience.
The report concluded that: “Ultimately, an event responsible for €262million of economic activity in Italy is testament to the time and resources committed to delivering such a memorable sporting spectacle. These findings vindicate the decision to award the Ryder Cup to Rome.”
Guy Kinnings, Chief Executive Officer of the European Tour Group, said: “The figures highlighted in this independent economic impact report demonstrate the major benefits that Ryder Cup delivers for a host country through spectator and visitor spending, as well as an enduring legacy.
“From a sporting and fan engagement perspective, Rome 2023 has already gone down as one of the greatest Ryder Cup’s in history. We can now confidently conclude that the 2023 contest at Marco Simone also generated record financial rewards, providing a significant direct boost to the economy in Rome and in Italy.
“We would therefore like to thank the Italian Government and the Federazione Italiana Golf for their bold vision in helping to bring one of global sports leading events to Italy for the first time.
“I’d also like to recognise two magnificent teams: Team Europe led by Luke Donald, who performed so wonderfully inside the ropes, and everyone at Ryder Cup Europe, who worked so tirelessly on all facets outside the ropes to deliver the greatest Ryder Cup played in Europe.”
Franco Chimenti, President of the Italian Golf Federation, said: "I have always said that the Italian Ryder Cup would be the Ryder Cup of records and now the numbers testify to this. The one that took place in Rome proved to be the most beautiful ever, an epic, memorable event. On the course, a united Europe won, and off it, a united Italy. We are happy to celebrate an economic success, the result of great teamwork between the Government and all the institutions involved, political and sporting. With the Ryder Cup, our country has shown great credibility even outside the national borders, leaving an important infrastructural legacy. Now that project, which began in 2015 and will only end in 2027, can represent a model for the best international sporting events. We are proud of it".
Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, said : "The Ryder Cup has proven to be an extraordinary event. We committed to this event to ensure that Italy is promoted in an integrated way, which makes it even stronger. Fans of this sport who have come to Italy want to return to our nation and after having enjoyed our food, and they now look for Made in Italy products even when they return home".
Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè, said: "Seeing the numbers and the success of the Ryder Cup makes us proud to be Italian. There are two figures that I find extremely interesting: the €72 million spent by visitors on other expenditures, demonstrating how we have all benefited from the effects of the event. And above all the fact that two-thirds of viewers said they wanted to return to Italy in the next 12 months. This is also the goal of the Ministry of Tourism, we need major sporting events because they help us to adjust seasonally. Compared to other European nations, we have a gap that we have to fill: building golf courses. More golf courses means more high-spending tourists."
Sports Minister Andrea Abodi, said: "The Ryder Cup 2023 data presented today by Ryder Cup Europe and Federgolf certify the extraordinary value that this incredible event hosted for the first time in Italy has also managed to express in Rome, in an economic dimension 11 percent higher than the European edition in Paris in 2018. This figure summarizes the dimension of a success that has exceeded all expectations, made possible also thanks to the teamwork among all the institutions involved. The indicators of Rome 2023 represent not only a contribution to the absolute value of this fascinating Europe-United States golf challenge, unique in its 97 years of existence, but an incentive to build on this experience to get golf off the ground in Italy, not only from a sporting point of view, but also as a tool for socioeconomic development under the banner of broad-based sustainability. This is the meaning of the project hypothesis that we are pursuing, in concert with the Italian Golf Federation, together with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, and the Ministry of Tourism, for the establishment of a Real Estate Fund aimed at the creation of a significant number of golf resorts in southern Italy, with a total tourist vocation, especially international, designed to combine sport, wellness, environment, landscape, culture and food and wine, with no limits of seasonality. The Ryder Cup dossier testifies to the interest and favor towards Italy by fans of this marvelous discipline from all over the world, animated by millions of players and companions in search of hospitable destinations. It is up to us to seize this opportunity without delay, with great concreteness".
General Secretary, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Riccardo Guariglia, said: "As indicated by Vice President Tajani since the beginning of his term, our goal, of the Farnesina with its entire diplomatic-consular network, is to intercept, abroad, every positive dividend for our country."
President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò: "The awarding of the Ryder Cup to Italy represented a historic victory for Federazione Italiana Golf and for the entire country: President Chimenti was certainly extraordinary and behind the success there was the decisive teamwork of the institutions. I remember many behind-the-scenes stories related to that triumph, also of personal involvement, and reading the data related to the induced activities of the event means we have confirmation of the importance of major sporting events as a driving force for growth, from every point of view, and as a promotional tool for the image of the country in the world"
Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, said: "Two lessons we have learned from the Italian Ryder Cup: that we can collaborate between institutions regardless of different political colors and, most importantly, that when we work as a team we can do great things. We with the Ryder Cup lived a piece of the Jubilee and showed that we can sustain that incredible number of attendance. The Ryder Cup in Rome was a virtuous model, we need to get used to having a level of ambition that matches our potential and not be afraid. When institutions work together they are able to realize the most beautiful projects, this must be everyone's goal: the country's and sport's."
President of Lazio Region, Francesco Rocca, said: "The great result of the Ryder Cup, which was held at Marco Simone Golf & Country, has entered the annals of the most important golf competitions. An economic impact of 262 million euros, an increase of 11 percent compared to the 2018 edition in Paris. A success also in terms of tourism promotion of the often little-known wonders of our region. In fact, 19% of visitors chose to anticipate or extend their stay in Lazio. We have always thought that major sporting events were an extraordinary opportunity to generate economy, development and employment. In the coming years of government we will continue to work, if possible with greater determination, in this direction".
The team from Sheffield Hallam University utilised the same eventIMPACTS.com compliant approach as used previously in Scotland (2014) and France (2018) to estimate the direct economic impact of the 2023 match at three levels of geography – Rome, Lazio and Italy – as well as the wider economic activity supported by the event.
The 2025 Ryder Cup will be held in the United States of America at Bethpage Black in New York, with Adare Manor Resort, in Ireland, hosting the next edition in Europe in 2027 when the Ryder Cup celebrates its centenary.
