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Clipper 2017-18 Round the World yacht
race reveals ₤7.5 million boost to Liverpool economy
THE Clipper Race, one of
the biggest round the world yacht races and 1 of the toughest endurance
challenges on the planet, has today announced a positive economic impact of over
₤7.5 million from its
Race
Start, that took place in Liverpool in August
2017, reinforcing its
strength and power as an impactful and highly inspirational global sports event.
Early research commissioned by Culture Liverpool, and conducted by North West
Research and Strategy, suggests that the event has already left behind a
substantial economic boost to Liverpool and has been responsible for a
₤7,510,000 boost and a further million pounds of visitor spending retention in
the City.
Returning to the City bigger and better than ever for the 1st time in a
decade, the Clipper Race drew some 220,000 visitors to Liverpool, during the
week long schedule of festivities, at the Albert Dock.
Commenting on the report, Clipper Race CEO William Ward said:- "The
Clipper Race has developed and grown so significantly over the past 21 years and
its ability to deliver such impressive economic and cultural benefits to
partners, in addition to providing life changing ocean racing experience to
non professional crew, is something that I am very proud of. We had a fantastic
time in Liverpool this year and very much look forward to returning in July next
year for the finish of the 2017-18 edition."
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is unique in that it is the only event on
the planet which trains non professional sailors to become ocean racers.
Approximately 40% of crew members have never sailed before they sign up.
40,000 nautical miles in length, the circumnavigation is divided into eight
legs.
More than just a sailing race, the Clipper Race inspires its adventurous crew to
push themselves beyond physical and mental barriers, and enables its business
partners, from Team Partners, Fleet Partners and Suppliers, to achieve
incredible results on a global scale.
The event evaluation report, which monitors the impact of the major events in
the cultural programme, looks at recorded activity over and above what would
have been expected without the Clipper Race presence. It concludes that in 2017
alone, the Clipper Race drew a higher proportion of visitors coming from
elsewhere in the country than any other recent event and attracted nearly double
the number of visitors from overseas (10.4% over 5.5%).
The report also gained insights into motivations and key drivers for attendance,
visitor expenditure, quality of experience and length of stay. It suggests that
69% of respondents were visiting Liverpool specifically to attend the Clipper
Race event and 35.7% of visitors were on staying trips, with the
average stay of 3 nights, an increase of 15% in staying visitors in comparison
to similar events.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said:- "Maritime events in Liverpool are
always hugely successful, and Clipper's Race Start was no exception.
From the moment the vessels sailed into the City, crowds of people headed to our
world heritage waterfront to see the fleet 1st hand, many sending the crews
well wishes for the challenge they were all facing.
We are incredibly proud to be the host port for both the start and finish of the
event, and it's wonderful to know that it has already attracted hundreds of
thousands of visitors which in turn boosted the local economy by millions.
The City is looking forward to giving the Clipper vessels and crew another warm
welcome next year as we celebrate our 10th Anniversary of being European Capital
of Culture."
In addition to economic benefits, as a worldwide event the Clipper Race Start in
Liverpool has further cemented the position of the City's waterfront as a world
class event stage.
The Clipper Race fleet, including the Liverpool 2018 team entry is currently
racing across the Southern Ocean to Fremantle, Western Australia having already
stopped in Punta del Este, Uruguay and Cape Town, South Africa.
The 12 Clipper Race teams will return to Liverpool next summer on 28 July 2018,
as highlighted at:- 'World Travel Market,' as part of the Liverpool 2018
campaign.
Before the fleet gets to Liverpool, UK, completing the 2017-18 edition
of the race, it will now call into:- Fremantle, Sydney, Hobart, Whitsundays
(Australia), Sanya and Qingdao in China, Seattle and New York in USA, and
Derry Londonderry, in Northern Ireland.
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