Positive Economic Impacts
A positive economic impact of the 2011 Rugby World Cup is the boost it provided for the New Zealand economy. In March 2012, the IRB announced that the RWC 2011 was the second-highest revenue-earning event in the history of the tournament, with gross commercial revenues $273 million. These revenues were within 3% of those achieved for the 2007 RWC in France. The IRB also noted that the 2007 RWC was hosted at the height of the global economic boom, whereas the 2011 RWC was during an uncertain economic climate, held in a smaller location and in a non-European time zone. The fact that corporate travel and hospitality were the only areas in which the 2011 RWC in NZ demonstrated lower commercial revenue than the 2007 RWC in France signifies the success of the tournament and huge positive economic impact it had in New Zealand. Another positive economic impact of the 2011 RWC is that it added 0.34% or $573 million to New Zealand’s GDP. This is significant as the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia increased GDP by just $314 million. In addition, the 2011 RWC generated a further 7,840 part and full time jobs for New Zealanders which is almost double compared to the 4,500 generated by the Australia RWC 2003. Local businesses also profited economically from the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The 133,200 international visitors who travelled to New Zealand for the RWC spent a total of $387 million during their stay. This is significant compared to the just 65,000 international visitors who attended the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Negative Economic Impacts
A negative economic impact of the 2011 Rugby World Cup is that businesses did not profit from the tournament as largely as they expected to. In a survey conducted by global sports and entertaining marketing consultant Gemba, 61% of business managers surveyed were confident that hosting the 2011 RWC would bring new opportunities. However, less than one in ten businesses say they benefitted from the event. It became apparent through a report by Auckland Council that respondents in the hospitality sector (18.2%) were more likely to experience benefits from the RWC than respondents from the retail sector (4.5%) and that these benefits appeared to vary and be dependent on location. For example businesses in central Auckland (excluding the CBD) and South Auckland experienced higher levels of benefits compared to businesses elsewhere. This is a negative economic impact of the 2011 Rugby World Cup because businesses did not receive the profits they were expecting and hoping for. The increase in retail sales as a result of the RWC are pitiful compared to the 7.4% increase in retail sales experienced when South Africa hosted the Fifa World Cup in 2010, especially given the fact that these events were hosted in roughly the same economic climate.