Australian Open Report Shows Economic Ace

A report by Nielsen Sports, commissioned by the Australian open, has revealed the 2022 grand slam generated AUD$267.3 million in real gross state product for Victoria, compared to the AUD$138 million last year.

Battling the pandemic in 2021 and 2022, the Australian Open still generated more than $405.3 million across the two years and saw 476,842 attendees across the period.

Totalling a decade’s contribution of AUD$2.71 billion, the 2022 tournament created 1109 full time jobs, with 247 jobs being in accommodation, 167 in entertainment, 123 in construction and 119 in trade services.

Tennis Australia CEO, Craig Tiley, said: “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.”

“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,” he said.

Alongside the economic milestones, Ash Barty’s Australian Open victory set the record for the highest rating women’s final in OzTAM history at 4.132 million viewers nationally.

Dylan Alcott’s final match, which was the highest watched wheelchair tennis match of all time, saw 1.447 million viewers tune in, with Nine also delaying their 6pm news by 45 minutes to showcase the game.

Compared to the 2021 event, the 2022 Australian Open saw an increase of 20 percent in broadcast hours, totalling 746 million across 226 global territories from 25 broadcast partners.

Minister for Tourism, Sports and Major Events, Steve Dimopoulos, said: “Hosting the Australian Open is a key reason Melbourne is Australia’s sporting capital and it showcases our state to audiences right across the globe.”

“These numbers highlight the massive economic benefit our action-packed sports and major events calendar brings to Victoria, and that’s why we’re continuing to invest in the major international sporting events that create more jobs and support businesses across the state,” he said.