The effect of the 2018 Giro d’Italia on Israel’s tourism firm value

Abstract

On September 18, 2017, the organizers of the 2018 Giro d’Italia announced that for the first time in its history, this world famous event would begin outside of Europe—in Israel. This article contributes to the literature by taking advantage of this unique opportunity of analysis; in particular, it tests the effect that this announcement had upon Israeli tourism companies’ market value. The results show that on the very same day the announcement was made, there was an increment in the firm value of these companies. We propose a conceptual model and argue that the hype generated helps enhance the country’s image, leading to higher expectations of incoming tourism. This article presents a contribution to the growing evidence regarding the impact of such announcements upon actual market value of tourism companies.