Rally Finland brings 19 million euro to the Jyväskylä region

The economic impact of Secto Rally Finland – the Finnish round of the FIA World Rally Championship – on the Jyväskylä region is increasingly significant. This year, the rally and its related events, organised on 2 – 6 August, brought over 19 million euros to the region. 

Of that, 14.6 million euros are direct revenues from tourism, i.e. money spent by visitors arriving from outside of the region. 

This is a very significant result, as the amount of direct tourism revenue has more than doubled from the comparable study conducted in 2017 (by Jamk University of Applied Sciences, Jyväskylä).

A total of 267 000 visitors

The number of visitors in the event areas totalled 267 000. The Rally Finland events were spread out over five days and there were several separate event areas: all the Special Stages, the Service Park, Ceremonial Start and the Podium Ceremonies. The calculated number is the total headcount “through the gate”, with individual spectators normally visiting more than one event area. Compared to last year, the number of visitors increased by 16 %.

Of the visitors Secto Rally Finland brings to the Jyväskylä region, 67% come from other parts of the country and 9% are international rally-goers.

According to the study, there have been slight changes to the visitor profiles. Even though the number of spectators that have visited the event on previous occasions is still significantly high – as many as 42 % have attended Rally Finland more than 8 times – the event is now also attracting new and younger visitors than before. The large number of rally-goers who keep coming back to the event say that it has become a tradition to them.

Satisfied spectators – returning year after year. Even greater numbers of new and younger visitors.

Visitors hold the event and Jyväskylä in high regard

Spectators come to Secto Rally Finland for the World Rally Championship event, of course, but also because of the atmosphere. According to the study, rally-goers also paid attention to the high-quality of the event organisation and safety. The positive experiences of the visitors strengthen Jyväskylä’s Event City image. As many as 80% of the respondents say they feel proud of the fact that it is in Jyväskylä that the WRC round is organised in.

– It’s fantastic that the quality of the organisation and the expertise of the parties making this event happen are regarded as highly as this. So, in addition to those who do this professionally, I would also like to thank all the local associations and clubs that are taking part in building the event with us and at the same time acquiring resources for their own activities. The number of volunteers working at the rally through the local associations and clubs is a approximately 4 500, and the study shows that they for their part contribute to the spirit of Secto Rally Finland, and thus support the positive images of both Jyväskylä and motorsport, says Chief Operating Officer Markus Häkkinen of the event organiser AKK Sports Ltd.

Rally-goers applaud the atmosphere and good organisation, regard the event as safe.

Häkkinen is also pleased about the fact that spectators feel safe watching the rally.

– Safety is always a priority for us, and the general public clearly understands and values the work we do on the safety aspect. In addition to the economics of the Finnish ASN, AKK-Motorsport, developing our competition-organising skills is one of the best non-material investments that organising a World Rally Championship event provides for motorsport.

A central pilar of high-quality event organising is the long-term cooperation between all the local and regional operators. Jyväskylä has been the host city of Rally Finland for 71 times now. The extension contract signed last summer ensures that the event will continue to be run in Jyväskylä until at least 2026. Mayor of the City of Jyväskylä, Timo Koivisto, sees that the WRC event is an integral part of the city’s appeal.

- Rally Finland is clearly the most significant annual event for Jyväskylä. The international visibility we get during the event is also very extensive. We are known as a rally city, and that’s a good thing, Mayor of Jyväskylä, Timo Koivisto sums up.

Extensive media coverage

The visibility of Secto Rally Finland both nationally and internationally is very comprehensive.

TV broadcasts related to the rally competition were seen in 44 countries altogether, with the total number of cumulative audience reaching over 47 million. Naturally, Finns were the ones most interested in the rally, with a total audience of 16 242 000. Worldwide broadcast time accumulated reached a total of 780 hours, with a total of 956 individual broadcasts. The number of broadcasts increased by 10% from 2022, and the broadcast time increased by as much as 19%. (Source: Nielsen report / WRC Promoter GmbH.)

Rally Finland also attracted a good amount of earned media. More than 400 accredited media representatives were again covering the event, with 65% of them being non-Finnish. According to the Nielsen report, the event reached as many as 12.5 billion potential reads in the print and online media all over the world.

On the social media side, the event accumulated a total of more than 13 million impressions on Secto Rally Finland’s own channels. When impressions on the WRC, FIA and other series operators’ channels during the event are added to that, it brings the total number of impressions to more than 71 million.

This year, the study was conducted by the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (Jamk) Sport Business unit, as part of the research series of the national Sport Event Management Finland project on the economic impact of high-performance sporting events. The project is funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Jamk have previously carried out similar extensive studies in 2013 and 2017.

For further information, please contact:

Regarding City of Jyväskylä:
Mayor Timo Koivisto, tel. +358 50 336 2819

Regarding Secto Rally Finland:
AKK Sports Ltd, COO Markus Häkkinen, tel. +358 40 551 0289

Secto Rally Finland Communications:
Terhi Heloaho, tel. +358 40 682 2662