With the annual Blair Castle Equi-Trek International Horse Trials set to take place for the 27th time this 25-28 August 2016, Atholl Estates, which runs and hosts the event, has released details of the Economic Impact Report carried out for last year’s FEI European Eventing Championship.
The report highlighted the ways in which local and Scottish companies were able to benefit from the event.
The famous Highland Perthshire estate, which employs 85 staff in tourism, hydro, farming, forestry, housing and field sports, was also recognised for the vital role played by its workforce in setting up and clearing the event with minimal impact on the environment.
Said Andrew Bruce Wootton, General Manager of Atholl Estates: “We are delighted to announce that we are gearing up for another Blair Castle Horse Trials in August. The event is extremely good news for the local economy and for Scotland generally, with £4.13 million worth of expenditure generated across Scotland last year by attendees, participants and Atholl Estates as organisers of the 2015 FEI European Eventing Championship.”
Mr Bruce Wootton explained that the Economic Impact Report had been put together by the Sports Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University. Attendance of 63,405 was recorded for the Horse Trials in 2015, with 39% of spectators stating that attending the Trials was their primary reason for coming to Scotland.
The study saw a cross section of attendees at last year’s event questioned face to face by the research team on a range of issues such as their accommodation and spending choices, length of stay and opinions on the shopping village and Country Fair. As well as spectators, the research gathered the opinions of national team riders, grooms, event staff, volunteers, media personnel; traders and contractors.
Accommodation played a key role towards the economic impact. 89% of visitors stayed locally for at least one night, with almost 25,000 bed nights contributing £1.08m to the total; the Scotland wide total spend on items other than accommodation was an additional £1.99 million. The event also received 268 hours of television broadcast worldwide, reaching 34.4million viewers.
Nicky Townshend, Assistant Director of the Blair Castle Horse Trials, stated: “It is very important to us to gain economic feedback on the event both from those competing and those coming along to spectate.”
“This is a considerable sum and one that we are delighted to announce. We want to see Scottish and Highland Perthshire businesses benefit as much as possible again this year by marketing their services to take advantage of the event’s visitors; we can help them get involved with sponsorship or advertising. The Horse Trials are not just for multi-million pound companies – there are packages from just £200, offering branding opportunities, data capture, hospitality or trade stand space,” she said.
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “The FEI European Eventing Championships were a tremendous occasion for Scotland and had an incredibly positive impact on both local and national economies, encouraging an influx of visitors to Perthshire.
“The event also generated terrific exposure for one of the country’s most scenic areas through worldwide media coverage, which has created the potential for further inbound tourism, representing a significant legacy impact. We hope many of those who have been inspired by these images of Scotland take the decision to return for this year’s Blair Castle Equi-Trek International Horse Trials.”
Andrew Bruce Wootton finished by outlining the painstaking work which goes into ensuring the Trials run like clockwork, with courses and equipment set up and dismantled as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“Our farm team in particular, do a fantastic job of clearing and reinstating the fields back to their primary use after the event, “ he said. “The majority of the cross country course is part of the castle’s historic landscape and Home Farm, so we are very careful about reinstating any damage. It’s very much a team effort between the Castle, horse trials, forestry, farms and works departments – they all have a huge input and I wish to thank them again for their efforts.”
“We are hugely privileged to have this amazing environment in which to hold the Trials.”
For 2016 sponsorship opportunities please contact Nicky Townshend on 01796 481 543, or visit www.blairhorsetrials.co.uk.
David Holmes, British Eventing Chief Executive, said: “This Economic Impact information demonstrates clearly a significant part of the value of hosting such Championships in Great Britain. The fantastic collaboration between the team at Blair Castle, British Eventing, the BEF, UK Sport, EventScotland and Horse Scotland helped ensure the event was a success both financially, in media terms and of course for visitors and competitors”.
Simon Morton Chief Operating Officer at UK Sport, said: “Generating significant economic impact for host cities and regions is one of the key reasons why UK Sport invests National Lottery funding into events across the UK.
“The European Eventing Championships in 2015 was part of UK Sport’s major events programme, which is attracting 90 major events to the UK before 2023, creating a projected economic impact of £500m. We hope the Blair Castle International Horse Trials continues to grow and realise not only the sporting benefits but the impacts for the local economy as well.”
Notes for Editors
• Blair Castle International Horse Trials and Country Fair, Scotland's leading equestrian event, runs from 25th-28th August this year.
• In addition to the four International event classes are British Showjumping and showing classes, an extensive shopping village and the Bruadar Country Fair.
• Located in Perthshire, the Horse Trials take place against the stunning backdrop of Blair Castle and the Highlands.
• For more information on any aspect of this year's Blair Castle International Horse Trials and Country Fair, visit the website www.blairhorsetrials.co.uk
• Barnardo's Scotland is this year’s official event charity, celebrating their 150th anniversary. www.barnados.org.uk
Media – For further details on this press release please contact Clare Graham Advantage PR on 01383 731358, 07879 682339, email Clare@advantagepr.co.uk.
For all other Blair Castle Horse Trials enquiries plus Interviews and photo opportunities contact Hilary Manners Tel: 07973 745267 Email: hilary@mannersmedia.co.uk.
EventScotland
EventScotland is working to make Scotland the perfect stage for events. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.EventScotland.org. Follow EventScotland on Twitter @EventScotNews.
EventScotland is a team within VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, the national tourism organisation which markets Scotland as a tourism destination across the world, gives support to the tourism industry and brings sustainable tourism growth to Scotland. For more information about VisitScotland see www.visitscotland.org or for consumer information on Scotland as a visitor destination see www.visitscotland.com.
The FEI European Eventing Championship 2015 and Blair Castle Equi-Trek International Horse Trials 2016 are part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2014 to 2020. The Scottish Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme.
Scott Peddie
Events PR & Media Manager
EventScotland
Tel: +44 (0) 131 472 2286
Mob: +44 (0) 7966 002 009
VisitScotland Events Directorate
94 Ocean Drive
Edinburgh
EH6 6JH