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- 746m broadcast hours viewed globally for this year’s tournament, up 20% on 2021
- 2022 Australian Open creates equivalent of more than 1,650 full time jobs and 270k hotel room nights
- Over 500k fans attended last two editions
Tennis’ Australian Open generated AUS$405.3 million (US$282.3 million) in economic benefit during its 2021 and 2022 editions, according to a new report by analytics firm Nielsen Sports.
The 2022 tournament generated AUS$267.3 million (US$186.5 million) in Real Gross State Product, while last year’s Australian Open generated AUS$138 million (US$96.3 million). Restrictions meant the figures were below pre-pandemic levels, with the 2020 tournament generating AUS$387.7 million (US$270.5 million).
Over the past ten years, the Grand Slam has contributed AUS$2.71 billion (US$1.89 billion) to the Victorian economy.
Nielsen’s research also found that the 2022 event created the equivalent of more than 1,650 full time jobs and 270,000 hotel room nights, with the average daily spend from visitors to Melbourne being AUS$259 (US$181), up 24 per cent on 2020.
Broadcast, both domestic and global, also posted strong numbers, with local hero Ashleigh Barty’s victory still the highest-rating programme of 2022 in Australia, peaking at 4.261 million viewers. There were a record 101,072 broadcast coverage hours produced for this year’s Grand Slam, an increase of nine per cent on 2021.
Globally, 746 million hours of this year’s Australian Open was viewed in 226 territories via 25 broadcast partners, a rise of 20 per cent on 2021.
More than half a million fans attended the last two editions of the Australian Open, with 346,468 attendees in 2022 and a further 130,374 in 2021. It should be noted that both tournaments were significantly affected by Covid-19, resulting in capacity limits, zoning and a five-day mid-event lockdown. More than 6.34 million people have attended the event over the last ten years.
“We are incredibly proud of the significant economic benefit the Australian Open contributes to the state of Victoria, particularly during the past two years which have presented countless challenges and hardship for so many,” said Craig Tiley, Australian Open tournament director.
“As the biggest sports and entertainment event in the world in January the Australian Open takes Melbourne and Victoria to the world, providing a global platform for exposure, and so importantly over the past two years, gave a major boost to the hard-hit hospitality, events and tourism sector.
“These numbers are even more remarkable considering the conditions at the time. Borders had recently opened, and international travel had barely restarted – leaving no time for planning for large sections of the tourism market. This all augers well for potentially the biggest return on record for AO 2023.”
