$18 million likely to be pumped into Waikato during Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023

Waikato Stadium will host five Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 matches between July 20 and August 20. Photo / Hamilton City Council

The Hamilton City Council says an estimated $18 million will be pumped into the Waikato region during the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023. The spending is projected to come from both international and domestic visitors throughout the main tournament.

Waikato Stadium will host five matches between July 20 and August 20 and it’s estimated the region will see 12,500 unique international visitors spend $13.7 million in the region. In addition, these matches will see many domestic visitors, who will contribute $3.9 million to the host region’s economy.

The Hamilton City Council’s deputy chief executive Sean Murray said that while the independent assessment suggests a high rate of economic payback for Hamilton and the surrounding Waikato region, the social impact and city activation benefits cannot be overlooked.

“The whole city will be involved in some way and Hamilton will have a unique opportunity to present itself to New Zealand and international visitors alike.”

Hamilton will have a unique opportunity to present itself to New Zealand and international visitors. Photo / Hamilton City Council

Murray said the council will be conducting its own evaluation of the event impacts leading up to it and during the event itself.

“Although we are happy with these projections, they don’t include the highly anticipated FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Play-Off Tournament we are hosting later this month. We anticipate this will also generate spending in the city.”

Industries expected to directly benefit are accommodation, transport, and security, along with the hospitality trade and catering sectors.

The chief executive of Hamilton and Waikato Tourism, Nicola Greenwell, said the opportunities that the Women’s World Cup brings to the city, region and tourism sector are exciting.

“While our tourism and businesses will certainly benefit from those visiting for the tournament, and at what is traditionally a quieter time for the sector, the opportunities for our community extend into hospitality, retail and services such as supermarkets and petrol stations,” Greenwell said.

It will be the largest women’s sporting event held globally. TV viewership alone is forecast to be two billion, compared to 1.2 billion in France in 2019.

“The benefit from hosting this event is fantastic and provides the opportunity to create a legacy for our city and region - for example, the people watching on the other side of the world may be inspired to visit,” Greenwell said.

“Those visitors attending the event, if we host them well and offer a great experience in our region, will head home and share their stories with friends and family, increasing our international profile and the likelihood of return and future visitation.”

Calculations of visitor numbers and expected visitor spending are consistent with federal, state and regional government-approved economic impact methodologies used to measure the impact of events in Australia and New Zealand.