St Andrews can expect a significant cash injection on the back of the Open Championship.
Over £72 million is forecast to be raised over the four-day tournament, which returns to the home of golf in July.
At an event held on Wednesday to discuss preparations for the championhip, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson said an economic impact assessment study will be carried out to measure the tournament’s financial benefit.
He added that in 2005, when the Open was last held in St Andrews, the same step was taken which discovered £72 million had gone into the Scottish economy.
This time round, and even with the backdrop of a recent recession, he says the organisation expect this figure to rise.
David Hill, the R&A’s director of championships, added it was encouraging to see more Americans book their place for the Open.
“I am pleased to say ticket sales are ahead of 2005. Corporate sales have picked up… I don’t know if that is the St Andrews factor or the recession it is hard to say,” he said.
Around 200,000 spectators will attend the Open, in its 150th year.
The economic benefits are already being felt in St Andrews, with accommodation all but gone and hoteliers in Perth and even Edinburgh now reportedly receiving bookings.
But all is not lost for those keen to stay a little closer to the action.
The four-storey Dairsie Castle, which stands above the River Eden near St Andrews, is available for let over the tournament at a staggering £25,000 a substantial hike from its normal high-season price of £2800.
Dairsie Castle picture used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flick user BeckyKP.