Around $18 billion in revenue has been made throughout the history of the Mystery Creek Fieldays, an economic impact report says.
Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of Fieldays – the largest agricultural event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.
A University of Waikato study is highlighting the impact the event has had on the New Zealand economy since first kicking off at Hamilton’s Te Rapa Racecourse in 1969.
It looks at attendance for each year as a scaling factor and outlines the total revenue contribution of Fieldays for the New Zealand economy over the last 49 years to be estimated at $18 billion in today’s economic value with the GDP contribution estimated at $8 billion.
New Zealand National Fieldays Society (NZNFS) general manager of commercial Nick Dromgool says the organisation is “really proud” of the achievement.
“It’s amazing to think that the decisions that our founding fathers made back in 1968 to create an event bringing town and country together have contributed so significantly,” Dromgool says.
The report also outlines the impact the event has on employment with an estimated 2,340 jobs in 2017, with 900 of these jobs created in the Waikato alone.
“The spin off to the food and beverage, accommodation and service industry, particularly in the Waikato is great.
“As Fieldays grows so do the service industries that supply our exhibitors and their businesses,” Dromgool says.
It was also estimated that exhibitors experienced around a 10% impact from exhibiting at Fieldays with the current brand value of the Fieldays platform standing at $465 million.
