Economics of the Giro D'Italia

The 2011 Giro d'Italia, "La Corsa Rosa", is one of the three events selected to offically celebrate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy (150° Anniversario dell’Unità d’Italia); the other two events are the Coppa Italia and the Festival di Sanremo.

The start of the Giro will take place in Torino, the first capital of unified Italy, on May 7, 2011.

The Director of the Giro, Angelo Zomegnan, said in San Remo on Thursday, "The Giro d'Italia by definition unites the country and this year will try to do so even more than before. Although we are obligated to remain within a distance of 3500 km we have managed to touch 17 of the 20 regions, more than 60 of the 110 provinces and over 550 municipalities. I think the pink thread that joins these cities, provinces and regions will be the ideal moment to emphasize even more the country's unity. The Giro was watched by more than 10,500,000 people last year along the route and our nation will appear on television in 165 countries around the world thanks to the work done by Rai Trade."

Michele Acquarone, CEO of RCS Sport, who has examined how the viewership of the Giro said, "In 2010 there were more than 10 million people that watched on the roads, paralleling growth in other areas: growing interest by the media, more than 2,000 accredited journalists last year, a home reach of 350 million people through TV with a virtually global coverage. There were more than one million page views on the official website of the Corsa Rosa and a community of 37,000 followers, which is continuing to increase, on social media. Yet our mission is not yet complete as we are working to increase the penetration and improve the effectiveness of communication of the Giro.

RCS Sport, as the organizer, ensures a highly professional logistics service offering the possibility of obtaining positive results in the economic, tourist, environmental, socio-cultural and political sectors, quantifiable returns of between 3 , 65% and 10.25% of the investment."

How is return of investment calculated? Alberto Dal Sasso, Commercial Director of Nielsen Media, has addressed this issue by presenting the results of research conducted on public business and local communities in the cities hosting stages. The 2009 edition of the Giro provided the cities of the stages: 60,000 tourists, 28,000 rooms booked in hotels, a turnover of EUR 34 million (more than one third of the total turnover of the Giro, which amounts to 110 million euro) and an average turnover of €620,000 thousand for the cities of the stage. These revenues increase for cities as follows:
hosting the stage finish: + €465,000
hosting mountain finish: + €571,000
hosting stages during the weekend: € 1.2 to 1.8 million
hosting by large city: €1.5 to 1.9 million

"The Giro is therefore an investment but is also a source of satisfaction in the community because it has positive values in terms of modernization of the urban environment and seasonal adjustment of tourism. In addition, the Giro d'Italia creates attention, passion and values abroad: the first three stages of 2010 in Amsterdam and the Netherlands have generated a total turnover of € 7.4 million.", said Dal Sasso.

Regions, such as the Trentino, depend on the passing of the Giro to develop a stratgey to attract amateur cyclists, creating a long wave of 2.5 million cycling tourists throughout the summer. Maurizio Rossini, Direttore Marketing di Trentino Marketing Spa said, "This strategic approach is based on the two cornerstones of communication and sponsorship which aim at making the Trentino a brand recognized and immediately identifiable with the world of cycling."

Summary of the 2011 Giro d'Italia:
From the 7th to the 29th of May 2011,
17 regions,
23 total days, 21 race days,
1 rest day + transfer 1 rest day,
Start from Torino-Reggia di Venaria , Reale,
Finish in Milano-Piazza Duomo,
1 Team Time Trial Stage (1ª stage Reggia di Venaria Reale-Torino) / 21,5 km,
1 uphill time trial (16ª Belluno-Nevegal) / 12,7 km,
1 individual time trial (21ª Milano-Milano) / 32,8 km,
7 stages for sprinters,
1 white (gravel) road stage in Siena in the province of Siena and the finish in Orvieto
4 medium mountain stages (1 summit finish)
6 mountain stages (6 summit finish),
Summit finishes: Montevergine di Mercogliano (7ª stage), Etna (9ª stage), Grossglockner (13ª stage), Zoncolan (14ª stage), Gardeccia (15ª stage), Macugnaga (19ª stage), Sestriere (20ª stage),
Other climbs: Crostis (new), Croce Carnico, Mauria, Fedaia-Marmolada, Tonale, Aprica, Mottarone, Colle delle Finestre (dirt stretch),
Cima Coppi: Passo Giau,
Total: 3496 km

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