The economic impact of special events: a case study of the Mother City Queer project (MCQP) 2009

Abstract

Cape Town, which is known as the Mother City of South Africa, is regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in the world: ‘heaven at the tip of Africa’, and was voted by the premier gay travel guide, Spartacus International Gay Guide, as one of the top five gay travel destinations in the world. The well-publicised myth of gays as DINKs who need somewhere to spend their above average disposable income has led to the vigorous courting of the gay niche by a variety of organisations that seek new markets. However, South Africa, an emerging destination, is merely beginning to understand niche markets. The research was motivated by limited market intelligence about the economic impact and changes in inbound niche markets, especially with regard to the gay market in Cape Town. In order for Cape Town to remain successful in attracting the international gay market, Cape Town’s tourism planners, marketers and local community should be continuously reminded about the economic worth of gay tourists, as a weak rand relative to other major world currencies, and high standard of gay facilities make the City attractive for gay visitors who bring foreign currencies. Understanding the economic impact of gay tourism by using the 2009 MCQP as a case in reference is, therefore, of paramount importance for Cape Town marketers to ensure that they target the gay market effectively at present and in future. The purpose of the study was to analyse the economic impact of the 2009 MCQP on the local economy by translating the total sales effect obtained by multiplying direct sales with appropriate multipliers, into an analytical framework, namely the ‘System of equations for estimating local economic impact.’