July's Tri Nations rugby test in Dunedin directly brought $7.3 million to the local economy, but the figure could not encapsulate the "feel good" benefits it brought to the city, business and tourism leaders say.
The Dunedin City Council economic impact report, released yesterday, showed the test attracted 12,200 people to the city who spent an average $511 each, mainly in hospitality, accommodation and retail.
A further 2542 people travelled to the city that weekend, but did not attend the match and spent $175.
Report author consultant Andrea Howard said when the downstream effects of the expenditure were added to the mix, the match contributed an estimated $12.8 million to the economy.
It was estimated about $6 million stayed in the local economy long-term, she said.
"It does show there is a significant impact from an event which is held . . . on one night. It is a good economic hit for Dunedin."
The economic benefit of the test was about 40% greater than the one held in 2003 and on par with 2005's Lion's test, when visitors to the city added about $7.5 million, she said.
Tourism Dunedin acting chief executive Hamish Saxton said the match definitely enhanced the local economy as, without the test, the Dunedin's tourism sector had been heading for an "extremely" poor month.
"It was a major event and created major business - it made the difference between a bad month and good month."
People coming for the game stayed three or four nights and the media arrived four or five days before the test, he said.
"The city had this amazing buzz - there was excitement, anticipation, an upbeat feel."
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie, who had not seen the full report, said the result showed it was very positive economically for the city, but beyond that, it was a real booster to business confidence.
"You can't measure that directly, but it lifted everyone's spirits and the whole community chose to participate."
While not all the chamber's members benefited equally - in an earlier survey 79% said it did not impact on their businesses - that was typical of such an event.
However, in the long term, everyone benefited by the lift in spirits and the promotional value of coverage nationally and internationally.
It highlighted the need for the city to start looking to future events like the next rugby world cup to ensure it maximised opportunities and participated as fully as it could.
"This shows it is definitely worth it from an economic stand point."
