Bahrain Grand Prix Ticket To Real Estate Success
While sports tourism has long been recognized, with Ashes trips and Rugby World Cup tours major sporting draws, there can be few events where sports tourism has been achieved with greater success than the Bahrain Grand Prix which has morphed into the largest sporting event and social gathering in the Gulf, since it burst onto the F1 circuit back in 2004. Even though Bahrain does not have one single driver in the F1 championships, it seems that there is a massive appetite for perhaps the most glamorous of sporting events in the world today. The effect on the real estate fortunes of Bahrain has been two fold not only putting Bahrain firmly in the world spotlight but intrinsic to increasing tourism revenues to the kingdom . This April’s 2008 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix should be no exception.
The 2007 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix saw the 3 days sold out for the first time ever, putting the event on a par with the UK and Spain which were the only other events to sell out last year. When you consider that independent forecasts estimate that the 2007 Grand Prix in Bahrain brought in a staggering US$548 in extra income in grand ticket sales, a 40% jump from the previous year, it may well bring home the impact which global sporting event can have on a country. The cumulative impact of the 4 races since 2004 has been somewhere in the region of US$1.2 billion and growing. Increased tourism brings increased demand for properties which has led to an impressive rise in the domestic property market in Bahrain.
Malaysia has enjoyed similar success with the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix circuit in Sepang on its western coast. The success of the F1 circuit in Malaysia has paved the way for tourist and property development in the area where Sepang GoldCoast a major palm-tree shaped island is being built not far from the Grand Prix track site. The Venezuelan resort of Isla Margarita is also set to become part of the F1 racing circuit and China has also benefited from hosting the F1 Grand Prix at its Shanghai International Circuit.
Over the next few years there are many more sporting events which will put countries into the sporting spotlight including the 2008 Beijing Olympics which are to be held in China and the 2010 Football World Cup which will bring South Africa well and truly back into the sporting fold. There are already signs of increased activity in the Chinese and South African property markets on the back of these forthcoming sporting attractions, and the increased publicity which they bring, with many expecting a new era for the respective property markets. While sporting events come and go, they have a great habit of leaving a positive lasting impression on local property markets!
