New Zealand Tourism Banks on Big Boost From Rugby World Cup

The magical islands of New Zealand play host to this year’s Rugby World Cup and already the benefits to their tourism industry have been huge.

Of course, it’s no surprise that the masses of rugby fans worldwide would flock to New Zealand in order to cheer on their national side. However, what has turned out to be a pleasant prediction is that the tournament could boost the country’s economy by as much as $1.2 billion dollars or £756 million.

This impressive figure was arrived at by researchers from Mastercard who concluded their study into the effects of the tournament. A big slice of that pie will come from the immediate impact of around 95,000 international rugby fans living the dream across the North and South island as they revel in some world-class rugby and injecting their tourist dollars into the economy.

However, perhaps the more important and more long-lasting impact of the tournament will be that it gives New Zealand a real chance to show its true colours as a great place to hold major sporting events. Mastercard’s analysis suggested that the size and scale of the Rugby World Cup will mean that it will generate approximately $209 million for the country in terms of brand value.

Now, measuring the “generation of brand value” isn’t an exact science, but it’s clear that if New Zealand shows its influx of nearly 100,000 rugby-loving tourists that it is the perfect host, then the country is much more likely to secure the position again for other big events. In addition, visitors won’t be able to avoid soaking up some of the other delights that their New Zealand holidays have to offer, such as the gorgeous scenery, friendly people and opportunities for adventure.

Those are all things that New Zealand tourism officials want their guests to be telling stories about back home!