Kent set for £80m economic boost as The Open comes to Sandwich
It is predicted 200,000 visitors are coming to see golfing aces such as Rory McIlroy battle it out for the coveted Claret Jug.
They are due to bring in £40 million through direct spending, such as in hotels, shops and restaurants. Another £40 million in long-term cash will be delivered through new Kent golfing packages set up by Golfbreaks.com, Visit Kent and Shepherd Neame, as well as through continued links with the 66,000 visitors to The Open who are also golfers.
The Dover district and east Kent area will benefit from some £17.6 million of direct spending.
Gillian Gayton is Dover District Council's project leader for the tournament, which runs from July 14 to July 17, with emergency provision for an extra day.
She said: "The R&A (Royal & Ancient governing body for the sport) has committed to using local suppliers.
"All the food for hospitality and the marquees has been locally sourced through Produced In Kent, and Kent company Icon is putting up the signage and flags in St George's Road."
More than 2,000 international media representatives are expected to be in Sandwich to cover the event, which will be shown on TV in 100 nations including America and Japan.
Some 50,000 people are expected to attend the tournament each day.
To cope with the influx of visitors, Southeastern has laid on a high-speed service to Sandwich station for the duration of the championship. This involves six trains a day on top of the normal train timetable.
A traffic plan has also been put in place, with visitors recommended to use the A2/M2 corridor, although extra traffic is also expected on the M20 and a tidal flow scheme is being used in the town to try to keep disruption to a minimum.
A temporary park-and-ride centre will be set up at Barville Farm, Barville Road.
DDC councillor and Chairman of the Open Golf Project Executive Nigel Collor said: "This will have a big impact locally. The eyes of the world will be on Sandwich and east Kent."
It is hoped The Open will be the platform to make Kent the golfing destination of the UK, bringing in tourists and money in the long-term.
Visit Kent is promoting golf packages, where golf travel company Golfbreaks.com and Shepherd Neame brewers have combined to offer sports venues and hotels to enthusiasts in the USA and Scandinavia.
Tourism Development Manager for Visit Kent Cheryl Parker said: "Kent has amazing potential. With some 100 courses in the county, there is somewhere for people of every level to play.
Golf clubs already signed up for the packages include this year's Open host Royal St George's at Sandwich, Princes, also in Sandwich, Littlestone and North Foreland in Thanet.
Source: This is Kent
