The 2024 Portuguese stage of the World Surfing League (WSL) in Peniche and the big wave event in Nazaré brought in over 23 million euros in total revenue. The WSL event at Supertubos Beach in Peniche, held from March 6th to 16th, generated over 20 million euros. Meanwhile, the big wave event, which took place at Praia do Norte on January 22nd, brought in more than three million euros. These figures come from a socio-economic impact study of the two WSL events, conducted by Diogo Melo, a master’s student at the Lisbon School of Economics & Management (ISEG).
A significant portion of the revenue was attributed to spending on goods and services during these events. Spectators in Peniche alone spent 13.3 million euros, while attendees in Nazaré spent 1.7 million euros in just one day. In Peniche, accommodation generated 4.5 million euros, transportation contributed 2.5 million euros, and food services added another 2.8 million euros. Other sectors contributed 3.5 million euros, totaling 13.3 million euros in revenue for the area.
In Nazaré, where the event took place over a single day, transportation generated 671,000 euros, food services brought in 592,000 euros, and accommodation yielded 567,000 euros, while other sectors added 601,000 euros. The total spending in Nazaré reached 1.7 million euros.
Organizational expenses for the events were also significant. The Peniche event cost approximately 3.5 million euros, while the Nazaré event required around 800,000 euros. These amounts do not include contributions from event sponsors or the additional economic value created by media exposure across various platforms, including written media, radio, television, and the internet.
In terms of international visitors, Brazilians were the most represented nationality at both events, followed by attendees from Germany, Spain, France, and the United States in Peniche. In Nazaré, North American visitors were second in attendance, with significant numbers also coming from Spain, France, and Poland. Other prominent visitor nationalities included those from England, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, and Canada.
The study, commissioned by the WSL and based on data from 1,500 survey responses, has a margin of error of 3% and a confidence level of 95%. Results indicate that most attendees were between the ages of 18 and 44, with 94% holding an academic degree.