ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of the main approaches to economic evaluation of special events. These are: economic impact analysis (EIA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA). CBA is an ideal approach to event assessment as it is holistic, including, in principle, all costs and benefits associated with an event. A measure of the net benefit of a special event to the community as a whole can be obtained by adding up the monetary evaluation of the gains and losses experienced by all in the community. EIA involves estimating the additional expenditure generated by the event, and then using some form of economic model to estimate how this expenditure affects the destination economy. Two main types of modelling techniques are used for EIA: input-output (I-O) and computable general equilibrium (CGE) modelling. In I-O model, an exogenous injection of expenditure, such as an increase in visitor expenditure associated with the holding of a special event, generates an increase in output in supplier industries.
