BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Trinidad and Tobago’s hosting of preliminary round and playoff matches in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), has resulted in an economic impact of US$23.6 million, tournament organisers have said.
A study carried out by researchers SMG Insight, using organiser spend, visitor spend and media value, showed T&T benefitting to the tune of US$ 23 625 618 for the August 4 to September 9 Twenty20 tournament.
Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain staged five matches in the preliminaries early on in the tournament while the newly-constructed Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba was the venue for the four playoff matches – including the final.
“Trinidad & Tobago has always been a huge part of Hero CPL, and staging the finals week in the country this year saw a massive increase in our spend compared to 2016,” said CPL chief operations officer, Pete Russell.
“We are very proud to be making such a positive impact on the Trinidad & Tobago economy and we are very grateful of the support we have got from the government and local population.”
According to SMG Insight’s report, the tournament had a direct impact on hotel room stock, filling 9 323 rooms.
Organisers spent US$4.4 million in T&T during the tournament, a 71 per cent increase in spending over the previous year.
Earlier this week, CPL organisers announced that Guyana had experienced a total economic impct of US$14.1 million, with 482 jobs created and 4 097 hotel rooms filled during the tournament.
Total brand exposure for the country hwas calculated at $3.2 million.
“We know that we will continue to see excellent numbers from Guyana, a country that loves its cricket and has been so supportive of Hero CPL over the years,” Russell said.
Guyana hosted four preliminary round matches from August 17-22.
Last season’s CPL was the fifth edition of the tournament, with Trinbago Knight Riders emerging champions after beating first-time finalists St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the championship game. – CMC
