Tour of Britain brought £500k to Mansfield economy

A photo of the cyclists crossing the finish line for Tour of Britain 2022
Mansfield hosting stage five of Tour of Britain

New figures show that the return of the world-famous AJ Bell Tour of Britain cycle race boosted Mansfield's local economy by more than £525,000 when it returned to Nottinghamshire in September.

An economic impact assessment commissioned by the event's organisers  reveals that the high profile cycle race generated £4.34m in net visitor expenditure for Nottinghamshire’s economy – with an impressive 225,000 fans lining the 116-mile route. 

In Mansfield which hosted the final eight miles of stage five of the race on Thursday 8 September, the a total of spend was calculated as £525,015, mostly on accommodation and food and drink.

The average daily spend for day visitors was more than £48, while overnight visitors spent more than £135 with 86% of people saying the experience was very enjoyable.  

The race returned to Nottinghamshire for the first time in four years with the fifth stage meandering through the county from West Bridgford to Mansfield. The stage proved to be the final leg of this year’s race as the three remaining stages were cancelled due to the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

In Mansfield, there were an estimated 25,000 visitors watching the race. The evaluation report particularly highlighted how much people enjoyed the event with the majority of visitors left feeling, happy, proud, inspired and nostalgic.

Very few visitors noted any negative feelings associated with the event and 93% of visitors said that they would come back if West Bridgford/Mansfield were to host future Tour of Britain events.

Executive Mayor Andy Abrahams said: "This is a fantastic boost for the district. It showed Mansfield at its best and demonstrated our ability to host major international events such as this.

"We look forwards to hosting more of these kinds of prestigious events in the future in this area as a way of regenerating our local economy and showing the wider world what we know already - that Mansfield is a great destination, and that we are ambitious and open for business.

"I hope local people feel the same sense of pride that I feel about how the community came together.

"After their previous positive experience of working with the council, the race organisers were willing to extend the number of miles the route took in Mansfield so that more parts of the district were able to join in.  

"I would like to extend a huge thank you to the communities of Warsop, Mansfield Woodhouse and Forest Town for their support in the build-up to the race and their enthusiastic cheer point events and activities on the day - we could not have done it without them."

Race organisers hailed the Nottinghamshire stage for its atmosphere and organisation and the report revealed that Mansfield District Council was the fourth name most associated with the event, after A J Bell, Skoda, and Nottinghamshire County Council. 

The total spend in Mansfield was up from £390,752 in 2018 when the district last hosted the race. And while attendance in Mansfield was down by 10,000 compared to 2018, the average spend per person was higher.  

The report also shows that in Nottinghamshire:

  • 69% of race spectators came from outside of the county
  • 60% said they would visit the area again
  • 24% stayed overnight
  • 86% described the race as ‘very enjoyable’;
  • 76% came with their families;
  • 50% said the race had inspired them to cycle more.

Published: November 25th 2022