By Dongyun Kwon
It turned out that a nationwide sport event held in Yarra Glen has brought huge economic benefits not only to the hosting town but also to the whole Yarra Ranges.
The 2024 National Cross Country Championships hosted by School Sport Australia was held at the Yarra Valley Racing from 20 to 23 August.
Yarra Valley Racing chief executive officer Brett Shambrook said his team were delighted to host the national cross country event successfully.
“For us, the event highlighted the fact that we are more than just a horse racing club. We host a wide array of events throughout the year such as craft markets, car shows, rodeos and swap meets,” he said.
“This year, we also conducted the first Caravan and Camping expo which attracted a huge number of visitors to Yarra Glen.”
There were 530 competitors for the 2024 National Cross Country Championships, and each competitor attended with at least one guardian, 1.7 guardians on average.
50 competitors were from the Melbourne Metro area, 10 competitors were from regional Victoria and the rest of the competitors were from interstate excluding Tasmania and Northern Territory.
They had to attend the event for three days, which meant that the average stay was at least 4 nights for the majority of competitors and their families.
On top of the competitors, there were also another 50 team officials from interstate in attendance as well.
Yarra Ranges Council’s economic development team found out the following data regarding the economic benefits that have occurred from the national cross country event by using ID local economy modelling.
The total visitor spend of $2 million attributed to staging the event would lead to a direct impact on output of $1 million.
This additional direct output from the economy would also lead to an increase in indirect demand for intermediate goods and services across related industry sectors.
These indirect industrial impacts are estimated to be an additional $514,000 in output.
There would be an additional contribution to the economy of the Yarra Ranges Council area through consumption effects as correspondingly more wages and salaries are spent in the local economy.
It is estimated that this would result in a further increase in output of over $270,000.
The combination of all direct, industrial and consumption effects would result in a total estimated rise in output of $2 million in the economy of the Yarra Ranges Council area.
Yarra Ranges Tourism chief executive officer Simon O’Callaghan said Yarra Ranges Tourism was thrilled to see the impact of this event, which brought significant overnight stays to the region, supporting local jobs and businesses at a key time that they target visitation mid-week.
“With a total spend modelled at over $2 million, this is definitely the type of event activity that we are seeking to attract and encourage to the region, maximising our proximity to Melbourne, the airport and leveraging our world class natural environment and visitor experiences,” he said.
“This is an ideal regional event for our region to capitalise on, given the quality event infrastructure we have in the Yarra Valley Racing Centre.
“Yarra Ranges Tourism has just launched a five-year events strategy that aligns perfectly with the hosting of the National Cross Country Championships.
“That strategy identifies opportunities to attract mid-week niche events like this that see visitors spending money in local accommodation, food and drink businesses, providing massive benefits from the way the tourism industry works together to support local jobs.”
The impact of an additional $2 million spent on the local economy would lead to a corresponding direct increase in value-added of $474,000.
A further $237,000 in value-added would be generated from related intermediate industries.
It is estimated that the additional contribution to the local economy through consumption effects corresponding increase in spending of wages and salaries would result in a further rise in value-added of over $106,000.
The combination of all direct, industrial and consumption effects would result in an estimated addition in value-added of $819,000 in the economy of the Yarra Ranges Council area.
Value added by industry represents the industry component of Gross Regional Product (GRP).
The impact on Yarra Ranges Council area’s GRP as a result of staging this event is directly equivalent to the change in value-added outlined above, and GRP in the Yarra Ranges Council area is estimated to increase by $819,000.
Mr Shambrook said he was not surprised with the level of economic benefit generated by the national cross country event.
“The economic impact for the national cross country event was a snapshot of the benefit the club brings to the local community on a regular basis,” he said.
“It also highlights the racing club is a tremendous community asset that provides great benefit to the wider community.
“As a club, we want to continue to grow our non-racing events which allows us to continue our investment in developing our facilities.”
