Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
A Grand Prix race on its own may not make a profit. But the highly-watched event has a direct effect on many sectors of the country hosting the Formula One that few circuits have been seen backing out of a race.
Though the benefits vary from region to region, there are countries which have made a fortune out of F1.
Bahrain is one such country. Developing as one of the most cost-effective sporting events in the global calendar, the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is becoming increasingly popular year upon year and is having a hugely positive impact on Bahrain's economy and on the entire Gulf. Statistics say Bahrain has seen benefits worth $1.8 billion from five years of F1.
No wonder, Abu Dhabi is spending for its Yas Marina Circuit alone, nine times more than the $150 million Bahrain spent on the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).
But, in the wake of the global economic gloom organisers this time around are keeping their fingers crossed on the downturn's possible impact on race attendance, tourism and business.
True, income from the event was a major contributor to the estimated $4.6 billion Bahrain made from tourism last year.
Also, research from more than 1,000 organisations found that local and regional businesses contributed almost $30 million, from marketing, event infrastructure and operational costs.
Bahrain benefited to the tune of $116.8 million from visitors spending on accommodation, food and drink, retail outlets, travel services (including airline and car rental) and other products and services.
The race also generated $13.8 million in ticket sales and $36.7 million from fans buying food, drink and merchandise at the BIC.
More than $7.7 million was raised through the selling of television rights, commissions, facility rentals, sponsorship referrals and catering commissions.
A total of 76 per cent of visiting spectators travelled by plane, with almost half using Bahrain's flag-carrier, Gulf Air.
A total of 586 jobs were created by the race directly and indirectly - up 46 per cent from 2007.
A survey of 67 hotels and resorts showed occupancy rates during the event period ranged from 75 per cent to 100 per cent.
Five-star hotels were full to capacity and there was a 30 per cent increase in trade at three-star hotels and resorts, compared with the rest of the year.
Room rates increased by an average of 15 per cent during the period, but prices at four-star hotels went up by around 30 per cent - causing a noticeable drop in occupancy.
A key finding of the study was that the majority of the Grand Prix income came from overseas visitors, mainly from the UK and other parts of the Middle East.
This time too Bahrain hopes to capitalise on the global recession by attracting more European visitors than usual to the grand prix.
Some tickets for the 2009 event have been slashed by more than 40 per cent.
"We expect that a lot of businesses that would normally travel to far away races will be looking carefully at Bahrain," BIC chief executive officer Martin Whitaker says.
"Ultimately, yes they will be looking at their cash flow, but at the same time they will be looking at maybe not travelling to Australia, China and Malaysia, but considering the shorter haul route to Bahrain," he adds.
Besides business, what else does Bahrain hope to derive from the race?
Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, the chief executive of Bahrain's Economic Development Board (EDB), says the race provides Bahrain with the opportunity to define itself on a world stage, as well as regionally.
"When we first started talking about the Grand Prix back in 2001, the world was very different," he says.
"For us, the Grand Prix had several objectives. One was to get some good news out of the region for a change. At the time, it was all bad news and before the boom of the last couple of years. You can say, 'By the way, there are good things here and we are becoming part of the global community.'
"Second was to promote Bahrain through all the viewership and exposure you get. The third was a more internal goal, which was showing the people of Bahrain that now we can compete on a global stage and achieve anything we set our minds to achieve."
With an estimated worldwide television audience of 500 million, the race has been the perfect stage for the kingdom to promote 'Brand Bahrain' across the world.
"Brand Bahrain is all about productivity, about Bahrainis being proud of their country and becoming responsible global citizens," adds Shaikh Mohammed.
