BTA Release PGA Tour Economic Impact Report
The inaugural PGA TOUR Bermuda Championship in 2019 “generated an estimated $22.6 million in value for Bermuda, leading to a 320-percent return on investment, according to a new KPMG economic impact report,” the BTA said.
“The event drove more than 2,000 visitors to the island and racked up almost three-million viewers on television,” the BTA said.
“The tournament—the first of five annual PGA TOUR events secured by the Bermuda Tourism Authority [BTA] as title sponsor through 2023—was held at Port Royal Golf Course October 31 to November 3, 2019.
“Broadcast on the Golf Channel and Sky TV, with a field of 120 professionals—including five Bermudians—it carried a purse of $3 million and awarded 300 FedEx Cup points to Brendon Todd, the Bermuda Championship inaugural year champion.
“The KPMG study, commissioned by the BTA, analysed the event’s economic impact, including expenditure on the island by event organisers, sponsors and visitors, as well as capital investments needed to prepare the island for the event.
“It calculated the event had an estimated direct economic impact of $7.8 million, generating an additional $10.6-million impact on the economy through indirect and induced effect. International media exposure was valued at another $4.2 million.
“Aside from direct positive fiscal impact, the event also contributed legacy benefits for the island, including popularisation of golf and youth sports, deployment of hundreds of volunteers, and promotion of Bermuda as a year-round golf destination.”
“As the island’s first PGA TOUR event, the 2019 Bermuda Championship more than delivered as a solid launch to our five-year title sponsorship. On television, the island’s breathtaking beauty and world-class hospitality was abundantly clear to the estimated three-million viewers who tuned in,” said Victoria Isley, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at BTA.
“We thank everyone who contributed to the tournament’s successful inaugural year, including our golf and tourism-industry stakeholders in addition to the hundreds of local volunteers. We look forward to the Championship’s long-term promise to Bermuda.”
The BTA added, “The KPMG report found total attendance over the four days of the Championship amounted to 10,660 people, a fifth [or 2,132] being overseas visitors, including fans, players, caddies, players’ families, corporate sponsors’ guests, PGA TOUR officials, staff and guests, TV production talent and crew, and vendors. The remaining 80 percent [8,528] of attendees were Bermuda residents.
“Local costs totalled $7 million, including the BTA’s title sponsorship, contributions by non-title sponsors. and $2.9 million from the Bermuda Government, which included spending to help run the event and prepare Port Royal Golf Course for the life of the agreement.”
“Our first PGA tournament, the Bermuda Championships, was a resounding success,” said Minister of Tourism & Transport Zane DeSilva. “The tournament highlighted once again Bermuda’s reputation as a world-class sporting venue, proving our island has the talent and expertise to stage a global event of this magnitude.
“I’d like to thank all those who made it happen—especially the staff of Port Royal Golf Course, who demonstrated skill, determination and resilience to complete their work and met the deadline in order for this event to be hosted on the dates originally planned.”
Other highlights of the KPMG study included:
- Foreign spectators spent an estimated 8.5 nights in Bermuda
- A total of 584 volunteers worked to make the Championship a success
- Some 26 coordinators also lent their expertise
- Forty-five children took part in the event’s Junior Clinic
- The tangible value of media exposure was estimated at $3.5 million
- Additional intangible value of media exposure amounted to $700K
- A total of 2.9 million television viewers saw the event via 27 hours of coverage broadcasts
- TV, radio, digital and social channel distributed the event to 221 countries & territories
“We appreciate the tremendous support we received during our inaugural Championship in 2019,” said Championship Director Sean Sovacool. “Beyond the golf course, the Bermuda Championship also has a responsibility to give back to our community, and this is something we take very seriously; last year, a total of $225,000 benefitted more than 20 local charities, and we hope to build on that.”
The BTA said, “The Championship fulfills the role of a “pinnacle” event for the BTA’s golf strategy, one of four focus sports aligning with the National Tourism Plan. The BTA set its sights on a PGA TOUR partnership because of the significant economic benefits an event of this stature can generate for Bermuda’s economy, as well as the worldwide exposure to an audience aligning strongly with our visitor targets.
“The fact the tournament is staged in non-summer months is an added bonus, fulfilling the BTA’s goal to deliver greater balance to the tourism calendar. The next Bermuda Championship is on the PGA TOUR calendar for October 26–November 1, 2020.”
The full KPMG economic impact report follows below [PDF here]
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Does this report include payment to Zane for his sand? Port Royal has been very, very good to Zane over the years…..
Bermudians had no faith WHATSOEVER in the same economic impact report from the same firm when it came to the America’s Cup. What do those same people say now about this one?
The 320% is a bogus calculation. The BTA does not use project based accounting where the time of BTA employees (and any Government employees) is factored into the total cost of an event (project). Was KPMG’s consulting expense factored in calculating the ROI?
Many would argue that a Government expenditure (taxpayer money) is not an “economic contribution,” it is an expense for a project that goes into the total expense cost used to calculate the ROI.
Only direct hard revenue dollars should be used in the calculations. Everything else is smoke & mirrors. Furthermore, the “tangible & intangible” media value are irrelevant and should never be factored into any calculation for ROI.
Well said! The report is full of estimations and approximations which are not guaranteed to be accurate. Payments to non-Bermudian companies were not included. Bruno Events located in Birmingham, Alabama were the organizers. Could not find BTA sponsorship cost. The hundreds of local volunteers are responsible for any positive ROI from the event.
Funny how the Minister takes credit for this yet trashed a similar report from the same firm regarding the America’s Cup. Just depends who is the party in power at the time. RIP Bermuda.
Wrong! The America’s Cup report was done by PWC! However it shows how inaccurate and misleading these accounting firms are as they never indicate the true cost. They try to emphasize value that is not there so we are led to believe that money was well spent. Would love to see how much money these reports cost!
Great event that also supported many local non-profit organizations through the BF&M volunteer programme!