Coventry's visitor economy boosted by sports events

Business leaders have heard how sports events have had a very positive effect on the visitor economy of Coventry.

A networking event was held at Dhillon’s Brewery’s Sky Blue Tavern by the city's official destination management company Destination Coventry and welcomed around 75 business leaders from across the region.

READ MORE: The future is bright for Coventry says Chamber of Commerce CEO

Its managing director Paul Jones was joined by Paul Michael, MD of Coventry Building Society Arena and chair of Destination Coventry to discuss the impact of sports events on the visitor economy.

They explained how Coventry City fixtures brought 75,000 away supporters into the city as part of an overall attendance of near 500,000 across the season.

Meanwhile, Coventry Building Society Arena hosted the Commonwealth Games, which attracted 135,759 people. The Lionesses playing in the Arnold Clark Cup added a further 32,109, while tennis tournament the Billie Jean King Cup brought in another 4,000.

MotoFest Coventry in June attracted more than 200,000 people with an economic impact of £10.7 million.
And Coventry Blaze, which play in the Elite Ice Hockey League, totalled 75,000 attendance for last season and brought 6,000 away fans into the city

Jones said: "We’re fast becoming known as a city that can deliver fantastic large-scale sporting events, and that has a hugely positive impact on the visitor economy in the city.

"This was reflected in our latest tourism economic impact report, where major sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games and the Rugby League World Cup put Coventry in the spotlight as a national and international visitor destination.

"A clear peak for our visitor economy in 2022 was in August, which was largely down to the Commonwealth Games. The city was buzzing during that period and all areas of the visitor economy felt the benefits," he added.

And Jones said it wasn't just traditional sport events attracting visitors. Over the last year, Warwick university has hosted the UK Corporate Games, while Coventry hosted the British Transplant Games.

"Coupled with thriving professional sports clubs such as Coventry City, Coventry Rugby and Coventry Blaze, who all bring thousands of visitors into our city, and you can really start to see the incredible impact that sport has on our economy," he said.

Paul Michael added: "Sport plays a major role in building the visitor economy as these are people coming into the city who may look to stay overnight in hotels and visit bars and restaurants.

"If we continue with our strategies of working collaboratively with local stakeholders, we can take full advantage of the benefits that sport brings."

Destination Coventry, which launched in 2021, incorporates established brands Visit Coventry and Conference Coventry and Warwickshire.

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