$479m value put on Auckland events in first-time research

Auckland events contributed nearly $500 million to the economy last year and sporting events were the most lucrative.

The economic report was commissioned by Auckland City Council to develop a better understanding of the ways in which events contribute to the economic wellbeing of Auckland.

It found 1674 events were held last year and 5.82 million people attended them bringing in at least $479 million.

But only 486,000 of those came from outside Auckland specifically for the event and most (452,000) were domestic visitors.

Covec economist Shane Vuletich, who undertook the research on behalf of the council, said the exact details of how much events earned could not be revealed because of commercial sensitivity.

But all of the top earners were private events with rugby and cricket matches hitting the jackpot.

Concerts, plays and anything where tickets could be sold and an event budget used to market it also proved strong earners.

Big community events like the Santa Parade attracted high numbers of people but were low on economic value. However, Vuletich said such events commanded a high social value which was difficult to put a price on.

It was the first time research of this kind had been carried out for all of Auckland's events.

Vuletich said the research showed that events were not as appreciated as they should be and were probably underfunded.

The $479 million was likely to be at the lower end and also failed to take into account the potential business that could arise from events such as New Zealand Fashion Week.