Resumen:
The aim of this study was to analyze the direct economic impact of the 11th Douro
Valley Half Marathon held in Portugal in 2016. An ad-hoc questionnaire was
designed for collecting data. It was composed of four dimensions: (i)
sociodemographic data, (ii) expenses, (iii) sports practice, and (iv) satisfaction with
the event (54 items in total). There were 375 questionnaires randomly collected in a
total of 16,330 runners. The mean expense of local participants in this half marathon
was €219, while non-resident participants expended about €320. Thus, the local
participants’ inflow was €1,036,965, while the non-resident participants’ inflow was
€3,709,760, resulting in a total participant inflow of €4,746,725. Regarding the
participants’ specific expenses, the following order was obtained: 1st
,
accommodation; 2nd, food; 3rd, travel costs; 4th, shopping. It was calculated that the
total local economic impact of the 11th Douro Valley Half Marathon participants was
almost five million euros (€4,746,725).