In professional cycling, there is nothing bigger than ‘The Tour‘Every year, various destinations compete for the right to host this (usually) multi-day promotional campaign for their region. Tour organizer Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) has won gold in this competition. Since the first start outside France in 1954, many foreign destinations have been vying for the honor. This year, it was the turn of Florence and Emilia-Romagna. In this blog, we will look at some notable aspects.
A Grand-Depart has a number of important drivers:
- Direct economic impact during the event. The spending in the Horeca sector is a key factor in this regard.
- Economic impact in the medium and long term.
- Hosting large events -> can you do it?
- As a flywheel for socio-economic growth. More movement, etc.
If you keep this in mind, you can ask yourself all sorts of questions.
Does Florence need more tourists?
Many places in the world are suffering from overtourism. Venice is perhaps the best-known example. But you can also sometimes see whistling and cracking in Florence. With the knowledge that a Tourstart often leads to MORE tourists. Why then the deliberate choice? Plus: the budget for a Tourstart isn’t a bad thing. The figures have yet to be confirmed, but let’s say 20 million euros for the region. That’s a lot of money, which Florence could perhaps have invested elsewhere in the region. In the construction of better cycling infrastructure, for example.
Are Italians now going to cycle more?
The socio-economic impact of a major sporting event is always overestimated. Is this a harsh truth? I certainly say yes to that. It takes a lot of effort to get people moving. Yorkshire in 2014, Utrecht in 2015. Two examples where this worked very well. Utrecht and Yorkshire are the beautiful examples. How about the legacy of, for example, Denmark? Basque Country? But also cities in France? Nice? The infrastructure in Florence really could use a boost. Just like in Emilia-Romagna, where the roads are sometimes poorly maintained. Low-hanging fruit? Making the city center of Florence car-free.
What is the marketing plan?
Winners have a plan, losers have excuses. That is always the phrase used in sports. With a Tour start or finish, you literally get something really cool in your hands as a region or city. But without activation plan It could turn into a costly joke. Take the example of Piacenza, starting point for stage 3. The activation for this city is, to put it mildly, ‘a work in progress.’ As the mayor described it: ‘yeah we hope the people will come next year’. But in all the communication noise, we have almost forgotten what it looked like. Just as almost no one remembers where stage 3 of the Tour started in 2022, let alone finished. Or stage 2 last year? Without a well-thought-out plan, it’s basically throwing money around and hoping it ends up well.
What is the story of this startup now?
The Grand Départ was this year in Florence, but 75% of the event took place in Emilia-Romagna. But did you know that Piedmont also got a piece of the action? Turin is not in Emilia after all. What I want to say is that in terms of communication, the message was very fragmented. Because an important part of a successful start to a tour is also the impact of side events. Like a major tour or an event like l’Etape du Tour. Copenhagen has now picked up that legacy with an l’Etape Copenhagen event. Italy had it too this year, but then in Parma. Because they missed out on the boat as a stage venue. An l’Etape in Florence would have been more logical, but yeah. They already have enough tourists and the focus is not on Florence as the cycling capital of Tuscany. That is Siena. Are you still following it? And the whole reason the tour was in Italy? 100 years ago there was a first Italian tour winner. Oh and the mayor of Florence knew Prudhomme.
Money well spent
Let me preemptively predict: the Grand Depart was a great success! The direct economic impact of the event is the most important driver in that. The ROI is almost always 200%+. The media value is correspondingly high as well. But what remains of it? The legacy of this tour start will probably remain limited to beautiful images of the Tour in Italy. And that is a shame. Because Italy is a fantastic country to be in and to cycle in. But to reach the top with Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Piedmont as cycling destinations there are still many steps to be taken.