Ahead of the event Council estimated more than $3.8 million would be injected into local businesses however an independent economic impact study showed an impressive $6.4 million expenditure from the weeklong event.
Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor Councillor Kim O’Keeffe said this was a testament to our region and investment in stronger infrastructure that can benefit the visitor economy.
“The BMX National Championships was an exciting week for our town to host elite and amateur riders from all over Australia in our region, an opportunity which was made possible by the $635,000 redevelopment for the Greater Shepparton Regional BMX Track which included Victoria’s first ever eight metre starting hill,” Cr O’Keeffe said.
“Council will continue to support and promote these weeklong events which keep our economy strong and businesses busy.”
The economic impact results carried out by Urban Enterprise showed accommodation to be the biggest expenditure for the region earning more than $1 million; other categories included shopping, dining out and attractions.
With 1,265 individual competitors and 3,000 additional visitors more than74 per cent of attendees travelled from outside of Victoria with the average length of stay being seven nights during the competition.
The weeklong event also saw a number of innovative visitor experience attractions occur such as the ART bike exhibition in the CBD and the Australian BMX Museum exhibition at the Shepparton Motor Museum which was a great partnership to showcase the sport and history of BMX to our visitors.
“Our local businesses are to be applauded for their great hospitality highlighted during the BMX event and Council encourages businesses to get in touch with our events and tourism team for opportunities to be involved with event activations to ensure local business continue to leverage these great opportunities,” Cr O’Keeffe said.
“These significant events would not be possible without strong partnerships and we also would like to acknowledge the support from the Victorian government via the Significant Sporting Event Program and Regional Events Fund, Shepparton Show Me, Shepparton BMX Club and BMX Australia for their collaborative efforts.
“We hope all the riders enjoyed their time in our region and hope to welcome them back for the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup to be held in Shepparton next year.
“This is the first event of its kind to happen in Australia in over a decade and the first ever regionally and will be a massive international coup for the region,” Cr O’Keeffe said.
To see the full calendar of upcoming events to the region head to the Visit Shepparton website.
Total Expenditure Itemised
| Expenditure Category | Shepparton | Elsewhere in Vic | Other State/Territory | Total Expenditure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | $1,244,059 | $124,406 | $13,823 | $1,382,288 |
| Travel transport | $530,226 | $161,373 | $76,844 | $768,443 |
| Shopping | $666,772 | $42,560 | $0 | $709,332 |
| Food and Drink – Takeaway | $384,813 | $24,827 | $4138 | $413,777 |
| Food and Drink – Dinning Out | $388,950 | $24827 | $0 | $413,777 |
| Groceries spend | $328,293 | $13,823 | $3456 | $345,572 |
| Attractions spend | $260,998 | $57,292 | $0 | $318,290 |
| Other spend | $140,957 | $0 | $0 | $140,957 |
| TOTAL | $3,945,068 | $449,107 | $98,261 | $4,492,436 |
Source: Visitor Intercept Survey, Urban Enterprise 2019
