Dubai: Top golfers like Henrik Stenson, Rory McIllroy and Lee Westwood have reaped the benefits of playing on the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, but they have also helped give something back in the form of substantial economic rewards.
Stenson (2013), McIllroy (2012) and Westwood (2009), have in the past won both the Tour Championship and The Race To Dubai, which carry lucrative purses of $1.33 million and $1 million to the winner of each event.
In total, the European Tour’s richest tournament offers a staggering $8 million prize pot plus a $5 million Bonus Pool for The Race to Dubai — which is divided among the leading 15 players at the end of the season-long competition spanning 47 tournaments in 26 destinations across five continents.
Through their much-publicised exploits on the challenging Greg Norman designed Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Stenson and Co have also had a significant impact on Dubai’s economy.
According to an independent research commissioned by tournament organisers, The European Tour, the 2013 DP World Tour Championship provided a $44 million gross economic benefit to Dubai. In addition to the economic impact, the DP World Tour Championship delivered a $280 million marketing benefit for Dubai from global television exposure. That figure was derived from analysing 1,220 cumulative live TV broadcast hours across 51 broadcasters with a global audience reach of 458 million households.
Mohammad Sharaf, Group Chief Executive Officer of DP World, said: “We are very proud to be part of such a significant global sporting event and that the findings demonstrate the scope and scale of the positive impact the tournament has on the economy and global awareness of Dubai.”
Spectator expenditure comprised 73 per cent of the Direct Economic Impact on Dubai with contractors the second most significant group, contributing 15 per cent of the value. Hospitality guests, media, volunteers, management, staff, and players also contributed to the total spend.
Further to the economic impact figure, the DP World Tour Championship has delivered further monies to Dubai through air travel and golf tourism.
Commenting on behalf of the European Tour, its CEO George O’Grady, said: “We look forward to the DP World Tour Championship continuing to be the successful season-ending event of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai for many years to come and delivering such substantial golf and tourism benefits to Dubai’s economy.”
Nick Tarratt, Director, European Tour International — Dubai Office, commented: “It is exciting to see the results of this independent research on the economic impact to Dubai of the 2013 DP World Tour Championship.
“This was the fifth staging of the tournament and, in all honesty, we should have done this study earlier in the tournament cycle. When sourcing sponsorship and support from Government, quasi-Government and private organisations and bodies, especially in this region, it is one of the first questions that is always asked at presentations, what benefit is the tournament to the host city and country — in this case to Dubai?
“We were always aware that the benefits of the tournament were substantial but to have these statistics tracked, collated and independently verified has given us a lot of confidence for the future of this tournament that is contracted to stay in Dubai until at least 2017.”
The DP World Tour Championship was held from November 14-17, 2013 and was won by Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who also secured The Race to Dubai title and the mantle of European Tour Number One.
This year’s $8 million DP World Tour Championship will take place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 20-23.
