Tour of Britain brought £500k to Mansfield economy

An economic impact assessment commissioned by the event's organisers has revealed the high-profile cycle race generated £4.34 million in net visitor expenditure for Nottinghamshire’s economy – with an impressive 225,000 fans lining the 116-mile route.

In Mansfield, which hosted the final eight miles of stage five of the race on Thursday, September 8, the a total of spend was calculated as £525,015, mostly on accommodation and food and drink.

The average daily spend for day visitors was more than £48, while overnight visitors spent more than £135 with 86 per cent of people saying the experience was very enjoyable.

The race returned to Nottinghamshire for the first time in four years with the fifth stage meandering through the county from West Bridgford to Mansfield, via Blidworth, Edwinstowe, Warsop, Mansfield Woodhouse and Forest Town.

The stage proved to be the final leg of this year’s race as the three remaining stages were cancelled due to the death of the Queen that afternoon.

In Mansfield, there were an estimated 25,000 visitors watching the race.

The evaluation report particularly highlighted how much people enjoyed the event with the majority of visitors left feeling, happy, proud, inspired and nostalgic.

Andy Abrahams, Mansfield mayor, said: "This is a fantastic boost for the district. It showed Mansfield at its best and demonstrated our ability to host major international events such as this.

“We look forward to hosting more of these kinds of prestigious events in the future in this area as a way of regenerating our local economy and showing the wider world what we know already, that Mansfield is a great

destination, and that we are ambitious and open for business.

“I hope local people feel the same sense of pride that I feel about how the community came together.

The total spend in Mansfield was up from £390,752 in 2018, when the district last hosted the race. And while attendance in Mansfield was down by 10,000 compared with 2018, the average spend per person was higher.