The 2015 Women’s World Cup and Canadian tourism

There is an extensive literature analyzing the economic benefits derived from hosting sports competitions or other large events. Much of that research finds little evidence of host city or country benefits (Coates and Humphreys 2008), and even events that do seem to benefit host communities generate smaller benefits than claimed by organizers or proponents (Baumann et al. 2009; Heller et al. 2018). Nonetheless, sports boosters and tourism bureaus continue to proclaim that many events have large economic impacts. In June and July 2015, Canada hosted the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup (WWC). The 24-team tournament ran from June 6 to July 5 and consisted of 52 matches spread across six host cities (Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Winnipeg). The economic effects of the WWC has been the subject of much less research than other international sports events such as the Olympic Games (Baade and Matheson 2016) and the FIFA Men's World Cup (Baade and Matheson 2004; Baumann and Matheson 2018). The notable exception is Coates (2013), which looked at the effect of hosting the WWC on exports and GDP growth on the development of professional women's soccer, and on endorsement deals for female soccer players.