CPL’s US$20.8 million boost for Barbados’ economy

Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) announced that the tournament’s economic impact for Barbados last year was US$20,841,961. The tournament was staged between August 8 and 16 September 16. Organisers said that figure represented an increase on the 2017 figure of nearly 40 per cent.
This figure has been calculated using organiser spend, visitor spend and media value and was collated for Hero CPL by world-renowned researchers, SMG Insight.
In addition to that economic impact figure the Hero CPL employed 361 staff in Barbados and filled 4,579 hotel rooms during the 2018 event. The value of media exposure and mentions of Barbados from the coverage was US$10,438,503; almost double that achieved in 2017. This was due in part to the unique sponsorship of the Sky Sports CPL coverage in the United Kingdom by the Visit Barbados campaign.
The Hero CPL spent US$2,644,411 in Barbados during the 2018 event with the tournament hosting five matches in the island.
Speaking about the report from SMG Insight the Hero CPL Chief Operating Officer, Pete Russell said: “Barbados has been such a large part of CPL since the tournament started in 2013 and we are delighted to be providing tangible benefits to the economy of the country. We have already started our plans for the 2019 tournament, and we are certain we can improve on these figures.” First started in 2013, the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is a franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament that combines two of the most compelling aspects of Caribbean life – dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere.
Combining broadcast and digital viewership, over 200 million fans watched the 2018 season to make it one of the fastest growing leagues in world cricket.
Trinbago Knight Riders are the current Hero CPL champions and the other competing teams are Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots, St Lucia Stars and Jamaica Tallawahs.