Member Article

The Tour of Britain brings over £1 million to UK economy

The UK’s biggest bike race, the Tour of Britain, added over £1 million to Brighton’s economy is September.

Figures released by the Tour’s organisers, SweetSpot, showed net visitor expenditure on Brighton & Hove’s economy was £1.29 million (net visitor expenditure for the stage overall was £3 million).

Those who attended on the day spent an average of nearly £52, while for those staying for two days the figure increased to more than £75.

Research also showed that 55% of people surveyed were inspired to cycle more after the event.

Brighton hosted the finish of Stage 7 of the race on 13th September for the first time in the race’s history

The Tour of Britain has the biggest live attendance of any sporting event in the UK. An estimated 50,000 people watched the finale on Madeira Drive.

This year’s race attracted the world’s top riders, including Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish.

Starting in Camberley, in Surrey, it travelled through West and East Sussex and drew huge crowds for the famous climb of Ditchling Beacon before finishing on Marine Drive

Councillor Geoffrey Bowden, chair of the city’s economic development and culture committee said: “We had a fantastic day and a thrilling finish on Madeira Drive.

“It was great for the city and having the country’s most prestigious bike race following on from the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games has helped encourage more people to be active and take up cycling.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .