The study of the economic impact of EuroBasket 2013 found that around 31,500 foreign tourists visited Slovenia for EuroBasket, which is in line with the estimates of organisers.

Based on a survey of 2,751 visitors to EuroBasket games, the study of the direct and indirect economic effects by the Economics Faculty in Ljubljana found that foreigners visiting for EuroBasket had performed better than average tourists to Slovenia.

The average stay by foreigners visiting for EuroBasket was 5.7 days on average, which is more than double that of an average tourist to Slovenia, researcher Igor Ivašković told the press in Ljubljana on Thursday.

At EUR 179.61 per day, spending by the foreigners visiting EuroBasket outpaced that of average tourists to Slovenia by as much as EUR 40 per day.

With as many as 68% of foreigners surveyed indicating that they had come to Slovenia only for the basketball, the researchers concluded that the total additional revenues created by the tournament amounted to EUR 37m after spending by foreign officials and media representatives was included.

The state collected EUR 5.3m in VAT from these revenues, while the overall direct tax effect stood at nearly EUR 6.4m given the income tax paid by the organiser and other VAT revenues. The figure surpasses the EUR 6m the state spent on the fee for hosting the tournament.

The overall direct financial impact of the tournament once the costs are factored in meanwhile was as high as EUR 23.7m, the study concluded.

Moreover, the company organising the event generated around EUR 500,000 in net profit on revenues of EUR 13.9m.

Ticket sales outpaced plans by 26%, with a total of 182,126 tickets sold for the 87 matches played. Combined with invited guests and other visitors, a total of 330,000 people turned out to the matches.

EuroBasket 2013 officials highlighted that while they were satisfied with the financial results of the tournament, this was not the primary motivation for hosting Slovenia's biggest sporting event to date.

Indeed, data from the Slovenian Basketball Association (KZS) indicates that enrolment in youth basketball programmes was up by as much as 60% in the past two years.

The organisers are also confident that the tournament brought significant promotional effects, with matches being watched by as many as 200m people in over 160 territories around the world.

Satisfaction with the tournament was high among foreign guests, with 78% assessing the organisation as better than they had expected and as many as 90% labelling the experience in Slovenia as above expectations.