Ger Eurovision Song Contest en ökad turism?

Abstract

Countries, regions and cities, often in great competition, seek to arrange large and expensive events. The economic efficacy of arranging these events is a question being debated in the political and academic world alike. The key argument often used, in support of hosting large events, is that the marketing effect for the hosting regions or cities will cause an increase in tourism and investments. The purpose of this paper is to, in light of the aforementioned debate, study the effect that the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, held in Malmö, had on nights spent in hotels by tourists in the host city. One of the methods used to study the effect of this event is a so-called “Difference-in-Difference” method that compares the difference before and after treatment in a treatment group and a control group. In addition to this, another method was used to identify a possible “structural break” in the growth rate after the treatment, by comparing the time trend before and after the event. The study seems to suggest a positive effect on tourism in Malmö, caused by ESC 2013, but some of the made assumptions are questionable, and the results are not generalizable to other events and cities.