Last year's Melbourne Cup was worth $700 million to the Australian economy and more than half the population stopped to watch Viewed give master trainer Bart Cummings his 12th win in the time-honoured event.A national report commissioned by the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) underlined the passion for the Cup which was first run in 1861, noting its unique cultural and social impact.The research surveyed nearly 5,000 Australian residents including race meeting visitors.It found that 3.9 million peopl
Last year's Melbourne Cup was worth $700 million to the Australian economy and more than half the population stopped to watch Viewed give master trainer Bart Cummings his 12th win in the time-honoured event.
A national report commissioned by the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) underlined the passion for the Cup which was first run in 1861, noting its unique cultural and social impact.
The research surveyed nearly 5,000 Australian residents including race meeting visitors.
It found that 3.9 million people celebrated the Melbourne Cup without even making it to Flemington.
While 53 per cent on the population watched the race on television and another nine per cent listened to the Cup, 27 per cent of the adult population participated in a Cup-related activity on the first Tuesday in November.
The Melbourne Cup's economic impact was mainly in Victoria but it also stimulated an uplift in gross economic benefit in the rest of Australia of more than $235 million.
New South Wales got the most benefit of the other states with $91.78 million followed by Queensland with $59.36 million, Western Australia $47.43 million, South Australia $15.60 million, ACT $9.38 million, Northern Territory $5.72 million and Tasmania $5.18 million.
The report also revealed:
* Those who participated in Melbourne Cup day activities spent more than $51 million on fashion, with racegoers spending more than half of this amount;
* Around the nation, 1.25 million people attended private Melbourne Cup parties and barbecues;
* More than 822,000 people visited a pub or bar for an extended period on Cup Day;
* Over 660,000 people attended a Melbourne Cup day function, with guests spending more than $14 million on fashion items alone;
* More than 438,000 people spent the day at a club (Golf, Bowls, RSL and Leagues);
* Restaurants benefited from the patronage of more than 227,000 people who celebrated the Cup;
* More than 315,000 patrons attended the 52 race meetings held around the nation on Melbourne Cup day (more than any other day of the year, including Australia Day and New Year's Day);
* 48,000 interstate and international visitors celebrated Cup day at Victorian racecourses, the vast majority at Flemington;
* Tourists whose travel was inspired by the Melbourne Cup Carnival contributed in excess of 100,000 bed nights in Victoria, delivering more than $27.6 million in spending to the accommodation sector.
It was the first time the VRC had commissioned a national study on the benefits of the Melbourne Cup.
VRC chief executive Dale Monteith said the study was designed to give a better understanding of the true reach of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
"We've always regarded the carnival, and the Cup in particular, as a cultural and social celebration of national significance, but now we can quantify the benefits that the carnival actually delivers to the national economy," Monteith said.
He said the engagement of Australians with the Melbourne Cup had been an enduring feature of Australian life since before Federation and each year groups of Australians embark on a pilgrimage to Flemington to experience the Cup.