Melbourne Cup Carnival pumps more than $1bn into Australian economy

The Melbourne Cup Carnival has raced to a record-breaking economic benefit of more than $1bn to Australia.

The Melbourne Cup Carnival has raced to a record-breaking economic benefit of more than $1bn to Australia.

An annual economic impact study to be released on Thursday reveals the race generated its biggest contribution to the Victorian and Australian economies last year.

The $1.02bn uplift to the Aussie economy helped eclipse previous Cup Week records on all measures and was an increase of almost 68 per cent on last year’s return of $605.7m.

The four-day major event returned a record $502.4m in gross economic benefit to Victoria – up from $468m last year – with 81c of every dollar spent on the four-day Cup Carnival flowing through to the broader Victorian economy.

The economic impact study, by market research company IER, found the carnival’s total gross economic benefit to the Victorian economy over the past decade stands at $3.9bn.

More than half the adult population (11.5 million) engaged with the event by attending, watching or listening on the first Tuesday in November – an extra 500,000 fans, compared with the year before.

“… What this means is that due to Melbourne Cup Day, Australians spent $1bn more than an ordinary Tuesday,’’ Victoria Racing Club (VRC) chief executive Kylie Rogers said.

Growth was recorded across multiple categories, with increased spending on hotels and accommodation to $49m (up $5.9m on 2023) and $36m on Victoria’s restaurant and hospitality scene (up $4m).

There was a significant lift in interstate and international visitors (almost 20,000), with 68,898 in total and NSW (35,596), Queensland (29,108), New Zealand (11,170) and UK (3854) tourists.

Racegoers spent $52.7m to look their best on track, buying 46,000 hats and fascinators, 43,000 pairs of shoes, 46,000 dresses and 18,000 suits.

“For independent research to tell us the carnival generated the largest ever contribution to both the Victorian and Australian economy is something we should be very proud of,’’ Ms Rogers said. “It shows not only is the Melbourne Cup ingrained in the psyche of Australians, but it is an important contributor to the Australian economy.’’

Among those flocking to Flemington across the four days, 54.3 per cent were female and 45 per cent of general admission ticket-holders were aged under 35. The report found 2.1 million adults celebrated Cup Day at a pub, restaurant, club or RSL Australia-wide and 1.6 million at a private party.

The VRC posted a $24.4m loss last financial year.

“I’m committed to delivering extraordinary experiences for our members and our patrons,” Ms Rogers said. “But done in a very prudent way where we spend where it matters.

“Our 2024 Melbourne Cup Carnival reached budget for the first time since Covid, we are on track to meet our budget this year and everything I’m doing is around smart spending, cost management and revenue generation.’’

Racing Minister Anthony Carbines said the report confirmed Melbourne as Australia’s “premier events destination’’, with 285,675 fans attending the carnival.

“We saw increased crowds race through the gates at Flemington and pack our hotels, retailers, cafes and restaurants across the city – pumping millions into the local economy and bringing Melbourne alive,’’ he said.