The 2023 World Cup had an economic impact of USD 1.39 billion (INR 11,637 Crores) on the Indian economy, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a report on Wednesday. The ICC said that an Economic Impact Assessment was conducted by the New York-based Nielsen based on information supplied by cricket's global governing body and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which had hosted the tournament.

The World Cup, which Australia eventually won by beating hosts India in the final, took place between October 5 and November 19, 2023 across 10 host cities - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. The ICC said that direct investment into staging the event from the Council and the BCCI, coupled with stadium upgrades by the respective state cricket associations, delivered "direct benefits to Indian businesses across a range of sectors".

Record-breaking 1.25 million spectators attended matches

The governing body further stated that a record-breaking 1.25 million spectators attended the matches out of which 75 per cent were attending a men's 50-over World Cup match for the first time. "Nearly 55% of the international respondents had previously visited India regularly, whilst an injection of new visitors thanks to the World Cup saw 19% of international attendees making their first ever visit to the country," said the ICC.

Additionally, international travellers visiting tourist destinations amounted to an economic impact of USD 281.2 million, the report said. The pan-India impact of the event was amounted to USD 253.9 million.

"In hosting the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup over 48,000 full and part time jobs were created by the event through direct involvement in delivering the tournament, as well as other organizations across the hospitality sector which further contributed USD 18 million as value to the economy," said the ICC.

Exposure of the host cities through city shots, branding on team kit and verbal mentions, “generated a media impact of USD 70.7 million for businesses and stakeholders”. The ICC also said that revenue generation through accommodation, travel, transportation and food and beverage amounted to USD 861.4 million of revenue generation.

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