Beyond attendance: Evaluating the real economic contribution of an event

The F1 Powerboat World Championship represents one of Sharjah’s flagship international sporting events, attracting participants, spectators, and media attention from around the world.

While the event is positioned as a key driver of tourism and destination visibility, the client required a robust assessment to quantify its actual economic contribution. The core challenge was to move beyond descriptive reporting and establish a defensible, evidence-based measurement of impact.

This included the need to:

Measure the economic activity generated directly and indirectly by the event
Understand tourism inflows associated with the championship
Benchmark performance against a counterfactual scenario where the event does not take place
Provide a clear basis for evaluating the event’s return on investment

The grmc Solution

grmc was commissioned to conduct a comprehensive economic impact assessment of the F1 Powerboat World Championship in Sharjah.

The study applied detailed comparative scenario modelling to evaluate:

The event scenario, capturing all economic activity generated by hosting the championship
The base case scenario, representing the counterfactual economy in the absence of the event

This approach enabled a clear isolation of net incremental impact attributable to the championship. The analysis quantified direct, indirect, and induced economic effects, including visitor expenditure, hospitality demand, transport activity, and wider business impacts.

The modelling framework also incorporated inter-sectoral linkages within the local economy, ensuring a comprehensive view of how event-driven spending circulated across key industries.

Results Achieved

The engagement provided Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority with a robust and defensible assessment of the F1 Powerboat World Championship’s economic value.

Key outputs included:

Quantification of net economic impact generated by the event
Clear comparison between event and base case scenarios
Evidence of tourism-related expenditure and sectoral spillovers
Insights into the event’s contribution to Sharjah’s broader economic and tourism objectives

The findings strengthened the Authority’s ability to demonstrate the value of hosting international sporting events and supported strategic decision-making around future event investment and tourism positioning.

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Beyond attendance: Evaluating the real economic contribution of an event

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