Analytics, Economics, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Forum, Good for Business, Latvia, Tourism

The tournament brought EUR 2.2 million worth of VAT into the national budget. Taking into account that the state allocated EUR 1.77 million in subsidies to organize the tournament, the invested amount has been recovered and the state has made a profit.

The event generated a total impact of  € 29.6 mln, from which more than 80% were direct impacts. The initial spending triggered indirect impacts of  €5.1 mln. Outside of Riga, EuroBasket 2015 induced another € 3.2 mln, which results in a total impact of € 32.8 mln for the Latvian economy.

At the same time, the organizers also said that approximately 30,000 persons watched the tournament's game on the special screens set-up at the Freedom Monument.

In Riga, EuroBasket 2015 attracted 86,599 visitors from Latvia and abroad. Most of them were non-resident spectators living outside of Riga. Visitors of EuroBasket 2015 spent a total amount of € 24.6 mln.

External spectators spent the main part of these expenditures (€ 21.4 mln, 87%), while local spectators contributed € 1.5 mln to GDP.

The hotel industry benefited most from sales due to EuroBasket 2015 as visitors’ spent € 10.5 mln for accommodation. The second and third most expenditures have been made in the restaurants industry (€ 6.2 mln) and the retail trade industry (€ 2.7 mln).

Meanwhile, the total costs of organizing the tournament was EUR 3.66 million, with the organizers earning EUR 4.33 in revenue, thus also bringing a profit to the tournament's organizers – the Latvian Basketball Association.

The association informs that this profit will be invested back into the development of basketball in Latvia.

The full report can be downloaded here.