Economic Impact Analysis of Mega Events for Sustainable Tourism: Insights from the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France

settingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Economic Impact Analysis of Mega Events for Sustainable Tourism: Insights from the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France by Alberto Sardi 1,*ORCID,Alessandro Rizzi 1 andEnrico Sorano 2 1 Department of Management, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy 2 Department of Scienze Economiche e Giuridiche, Università degli Studi di Enna “Kore”, 94100 Enna, Italy * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Adm. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15020035 Submission received: 18 December 2024 / Revised: 14 January 2025 / Accepted: 20 January 2025 / Published: 25 January 2025 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Sustainable Tourism: Shaping the Future of Destinations) Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract The growing awareness of economic, environmental, and social issues related to tourism highlights the need to identify innovative practices that promote sustainability in tourist destinations. This study investigates mega sporting events and their fundamental role in sustainable tourism; these events contribute to tourism promotion by regenerating and revitalizing host areas. However, the increasing demand for transparency in the management of public resources, aimed at ensuring the economic sustainability of the areas hosting these events, has heightened the focus on monitoring resource allocation. Beyond the use of technological innovations, it becomes essential to study the role of innovation in promoting sustainable tourism management practices to guarantee the economic sustainability of destinations hosting major sporting events. A key tool for planning tourism promotion and ensuring economic sustainability is undoubtedly economic impact analysis. Although numerous methods are available, the integration of multiple approaches enhances both the completeness and accuracy of such evaluations. This study proposes an innovative approach that combines different methods to provide a robust approach for economic impact analysis. This research validates the proposed approach through the analysis of two prestigious cycling competitions: the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. The proposed approach enables the identification of areas where targeted investments and strategic improvements can promote sustainable and long-term economic benefits for host regions. It can support decision-making processes to plan tourism promotion and ensure economic sustainability.