Valencia Marathon related tourism injects 17 million Euros into city

The Valencia economy had a great end to 2015 as almost 17 million Euros were left in the city by runners staying in the city over the race weekend. The Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon 2015 saw a massive 66% increase in tourism spend. Following calculations made by the Valencian Institute of Economic Research the gross amount of Euros spent in the city for every Euro invested was 6.2 Euros. The rise in affluent tourists coming from Northern Europe (Germany, UK, Scandinavia) and the Rest of the World has increased the spend significantly over recent years.

The other key statistic of the report from the Valencian Institute of Economic Research shows that of the total spend, 10.2 million of it related to profit. This is 55% more than 2014, when the total profit for the city was just 6.6 million. For each Euro spent the Valencian Institute of Economic Research calculates that 3.5€ stays in the city in real terms. The majority of this profit is in the hotel sector (87.6%).

The report from the Valencian Institute of Economic Research shows that the total costs to organize and hold the marathon were 2,950,705 euros, this quantity is raised by a public-private partnership. The Valencia Government covers 6% of the cost (166,911 euros), the largest part (62%) is covered by event sponsors; 1,825,939 euros. The remaining 32% is covered by money raised by the race. Running is an important and growing source of revenue for the city. The first joint Marathon and 10K that was held in 2012 brought in a modest 1.3 million Euro return in tourism spend versus 17 million spent in 2015. The race is also a source of employment for many people, in the last edition 408 work places were created, mostly in hostelry and retail.

Tourist profile for Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon

The Valencian Institute of Economic Research examines the marathon data every year. A common trend is the duration of stay for runners and their companions. Spanish runners tend to stay in Valencia for 3 nights and travel in groups of three. International runners normally travel in groups of 6 and stay in the city for 3 to 4 days.

This difference between national runners and visitors from outside of Spain is also noted in the daily spend. International runners spend 89.2 Euros a day whereas their domestic counterparts spend 85.8 Euros per day.

Satisfaction Survey

The Valencian Institute of Economic Research carried out a survey with over 4,350 runners from the 2015 Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon. The overall score was 8.6 out of ten. The highest scoring aspects of the event were; the finishing line ion water in the City of Arts and Sciences, the crowd support/spectators and the race course.

The survey also highlighted the fact that most runners would recommend the race to their running friends. Furthermore, runners gave high scores to general tourism services and the runners help line that the race provides throughout the year.

Please download the full economic impact report from the Valencian Institute of Economic Research.