Punta del Este
Destination / Host City, Economic impact, Experiential / Engagement, Tourism

• To increase the profile of Sailing in Punta del Este globally through media coverage
• To promote and increase awareness of Punta del Este as a tourism destination
• To provide international business development opportunities for Punta del Este and Uruguay

Media outcomes

• 4,028 total News Items [online, print and broadcast].
• Sailing highlights included: Yachts and Yachting, Sail world.
• Mainstream highlights included: The Telegraph, Dailymail.com, Soho.com [China], ITV.com.
• Domestic highlights; El Observador, El Pais, El Confidencial, La Republica.
• 142 title mentions.
• 308 subtitle mentions.
• 2,056 Social Media items.
• £11.5m AVE.
• Top mentions by country: 1 - UK, 2 - USA, 3 - China, 4 - Australia, 5 - Uruguay.
• 43 countries reached by media.

Stopover/tourism outcomes

• The city hosted events that included national representatives, including Liliam Kechichi, Uruguayan Minister for Tourism, and Larissa Perdomo, Country Brand Manager, Uruguay XXI, who engaged with Clipper Race business partners and events.
• The Clipper Race’s visit also enabled Uruguay to showcase itself as a world class tourism destination capable of hosting major sporting events, which impressed a delegation from the World Tourism Organisation [UNWTO] that included Zurab Pololikashvili, who had just been appointed as Secretary General for 2018-2021.
• 319 visiting crew members (253 on board and 66 flying in for the crew changeover day) spent nearly US$500,000 during the stopover.
• An average stay of 10.07 days per person.
• Crew hotel occupancy was also high, with an estimated 3,030 bed nights.
• 99% of Race Crew had never visited before, with over 74% saying they wouldn’t have visited if it wasn’t for the Clipper Race.
• 80% of Race Crew would recommend visiting Punta Del Este.

Quotes

• “Amazing hospitality and welcome. Safe, easy to get around. As a stopover it was a really great spot!”
• “Good. Great AirBnB experience. Really enjoyed the hosted events, for example the Asado. People were very welcoming and friendly.”
• “The welcome was superb - we felt the whole of Punta del Este was pleased to see us and interested in the race. The entertainment organised was very good and introduced us to the Uruguayan culture.”
• “Enjoyed laid back attitude, food good and people great! Yacht Club Punta Del Este was extremely welcoming and helpful.”
• “Incredibly loud welcoming and friendly people, who could not have done more to make us feel welcome. A huge thank you to the people of Punta del Este. It was all amazing, especially the trip to the winery.”

Sailing promotion

• Visitor engagement was high throughout the stopover. During an average weekend day, some 10,200 visitors came to the marina to see the new arrivals.
• Some 3,151 people visited the teams over four open boat days, talking to crew members about life and experiences on board a Clipper 70 ocean racing yacht.
• Eleven school and youth sailing groups had private yacht tours to meet the crew and find out what it takes to become an ocean racer.
• 72 people attended a crew recruitment event held at Yacht Club Punta del Este. Future crew member race enquiries were also strong, with 11 from Brazil, 19 from Argentina and 63 from Uruguay.
• First ever Uruguayan crew member Nano Antia was heavily involved with sailing promotion during his circumnavigation both at grassroots level within Punta del Este, through talks during and after the race.
• During the stopover, domestic and international media outlets engaged directly with the race through taking part in a media sail day. Outlets included El Pais, Observador, Channel 10, Channel 11, Channel 12, Public Tv, Punta Cable, Intendencia de Maldonado, Semanario Realidad, AFP, Efe, Radio Maldonado, and Punta del Este Internacional Magazine.

International business promotion

Hosting the Clipper Race opened up Uruguay to the global business platform that runs alongside the sailing race, and with international delegations from the UK and China descending on Punta del Este, it also provided a unique promotional opportunity.

PSP Logistics

• South America was not an existing market for UK based PSP Logistics however the company took the decision to attend the stopover in order to explore potential business development opportunities in the region.
• As a direct result of the networking event and business development trip for PSP Logistics’ relationship with Schandy has developed greatly and as a result of this they are now looking at future business opportunities together. Of the three companies that Darron Strange, PSP Logistics Finance Director, met with, there was an estimated potential £500K worth of new business to PSP Logistics.

GREAT Britain

• In Uruguay, International Trade Minister Mark Garnier arranged a trip to coincide with the Clipper Race’s arrival, where he hosted successful meetings with Uruguayan Ministers for Finance, Agriculture and Foreign Affairs.
• During this trip, the GREAT Britain campaign hosted a series of three activations:
  • A sailing experience for contacts from British companies operating in Uruguay, and afternoon sail with senior Uruguayan government authorities with the aim to build new future partnerships. Participants included representatives from JCB, PwC, HSBC and Deloitte.
  • GREAT Britain hosted an evening reception for 80 guests, including government authorities, business contacts and influencers, with the goal of reaffirming UK/Uruguay relationships, connecting investors with government ministers, and to thank local authorities for their support.
  • The GREAT Campaign organised an education focused day with public school children and government authorities, including the Education Minister and the President of Plan Ceibal, (a Government Education programme) along with British Council Country Director.
  • Fifty Children had the chance to board the GREAT Britain yacht and hear about teamwork and the spirit of the race from the crew, providing a further opportunity to promote UK values on respect and diversity to an underprivileged audience, whilst also supporting British Council in its efforts to secure renewal of its contract with Plan Ceibal for providing online English learning lessons for state primary schools. A video of this activity can be seen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUV01-0d0wU

Sanya Serenity Coast

• To explore the opportunities in Uruguay, Sanya Municipal Government used the Clipper Race stopover as a reason for sending a delegation to develop relationships.

Utilising the Clipper Race business network during the delegations seven day visit, the Sanya delegation:

• Met the Intendencia of Maldonado [Mayor of the region] Enrique Antía, and discussed how Sanya could become involved in the CHINA-LAC conference being hosted in Punta del Este later this year.
• Met Commodore Juan Etcheverrito, the visionary behind the success of Yacht Club Punta del Este. The Commodore travels all over the world to yacht clubs, building relationships and encouraging ‘twin’ status to develop sailing links. He also looks to develop sailing races – an objective both cities share.
• Held a sailing experience for media outlets on board the Sanya Serenity Coast yacht. Outlets included participants from: national TV Channel 10, Channel 11, Channel 12, Punta Cable and national newspapers El Pais and Observador.

• International Race Crew were shown the highlights of the destination to encourage them to share positive information about the destination.
• Over two days, crew members were treated to a full itinerary including traditional Uruguayan Asados (BBQ), fishing trips, a Punta del Este city tour and visits to local landmarks including a local vineyard, La Barra, Rambla Brava and the opportunity for a stunning sunset ceremony at top local beauty spot, Casapueblo.
• Supported international Race Partners to organise key events with local stakeholders to encourage trade relationships.