World Cup sparks $7 billion Aussie hospitality spending boom
With the FIFA World Cup finals approaching (5am AEST on Monday, July 20), sports fans will be packing pubs, filling cafes and ordering takeaway in record numbers as they gather to watch Argentina take on Spain, and the spending spree is proving a win for local hospitality businesses.
New ANZ customer spending data shows Australians have already spent more than $7 billion during this year’s tournament, with pubs, restaurants, takeaway outlets and sporting retailers all recording strong sales on match days.
Takeaway food spending is up 6.75 per cent, cafes and restaurants are up 5.5 per cent, and bars and hotels have recorded a 5.2 per cent increase, while spending on sporting apparel has jumped 9.3 per cent compared with the equivalent period last year.
During the 2022 World Cup, ANZ customers spent more than $11 billion, with double-digit increases across cafes and restaurants, sporting apparel and takeaway alcohol.
Spending increased across several categories, including takeaway food (up 9.4 per cent), cafes and restaurants (up 10.9 per cent), sporting apparel (up 11.2 per cent), takeaway alcohol (up 14.6 per cent) and bars and hotels (up 9 per cent).
For hospitality operators, the tournament has continued to deliver strong patronage even after the Socceroos’ exit.
The Sporting Globe Bar & Grill at Fountain Gate reported being fully booked for Australia’s 4am clash, and venue manager Heath Agland says the World Cup has generated a significant uplift in trade as fans gathered to watch the matches.
“Major sporting events like the FIFA World Cup provide a valuable boost for local venues, bringing communities together and creating memorable experiences,” he says.
The figures reinforce a trend among hospitality and retail operators: major sporting events are becoming powerful commercial drivers well beyond the stadium.
ANZ managing director of data and analytics Joanna Gurry says Australians embrace major sporting events as social occasions.
“Whether Australians are gathering with friends at home, heading to their local pub to watch a match, or showing support through purchasing sporting merchandise, we’re seeing spending patterns that seem to reflect the excitement and social connection major sporting events create,” she says.
It’s a theme already playing out across Australia’s biggest sporting events. The Australian Open tennis tournament has evolved into one of the country’s most competitive hospitality platforms, where brands and restaurateurs compete for valuable pop-up space and exposure to more than a million visitors.
Similarly, this year’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix expanded its hospitality offering, with pop-up operators becoming an increasingly important part of the event’s commercial strategy as organisers seek to enhance the visitor experience and create new revenue streams.
