Steven Sim: Tourism surge and foreign fans drive RM345m SME gains from Bahrain F1 GP

It was definitely one to remember, the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit, for how it came to be to the drama of the race itself , peppered with logistics issues in the evenings during the race weekend. Fans, both old and new, lapped it all up, and they weren’t the only ones to be happy that F1 racing had come back to Sepang.

With almost half of the 261,000 spectators being foreign tourists, local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) were also happy bunnies, reaping over RM345 million in economic spillover effects brought about by the race, Bernama reports.

According to entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister Steven Sim Chee Keong, the Bahrain F1 GP in Malaysia had a very positive impact on the SMEs, especially those in the hospitality, food and beverage, retail, transport, entertainment, tourism-related services and support industries.

He said that those who attended the F1 race were projected to have spent 2.17 times more than at ordinary events, adding that foreign tourists usually spend more due to longer stays and expenditure on accommodation, F&B, transport, shopping and recreational activities.

“The impact reflects the important role of large-scale international sporting events in stimulating economic activities, especially through the rise in tourism expenditure and demand for local goods and services,” he said. He added that based on the success and economic spillover effect, Malaysia could benefit from international sporting events such as F1 as a platform for SMEs to have wider opportunities and market access.

“This effort includes strengthening ties between SMEs and bigger industry players, event organisers, tourism operators and local suppliers so that the economic benefits generated by such large-scale events can be enjoyed by more small businesses,” he said.

The post 2026 F1 Bahrain GP in Sepang brings RM345 million economic windfall to Malaysian SMEs – Steven Sim appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News .