Although what Mr Delano Seiveright gave us was an estimate, we have little doubt that a lot of money flowed through the economy, especially in Kingston and St Andrew, last week as the country staged Carnival activities.

At the time he spoke with this newspaper Mr Seiveright, the senior advisor and strategist in the Ministry of Tourism, said the authorities were still tabulating the numbers; however they were “certainly looking past the $5-billion mark re overall revenues pumped into the economy”.

Naturally, as he pointed out, hotels and other accommodations, as well as airlines — from which the Government collects taxes — ground transportation operators, hairdressers, barbers, costume designers, production teams, party promoters, food and drink suppliers, vendors, restaurants, private security, and many more earned income throughout Carnival week.

Such was the economic success of Carnival that the tourism ministry and city leaders in Montego Bay are now exploring the possibility of replicating the activities in that city.

It makes perfect sense, as events such as Carnival are attractive to tourists, and the organisers in Kingston, as well as the providers of goods and services, will tell you that visitors from overseas are a major source of the revenues they earn at that time of year.

In much the same way that Carnival and events like Reggae Sumfest have helped to boost our economy, so too will sporting events if they receive similar marketing and promotion.

We have repeatedly pointed out in this space the advantages that major events bring to cities. A boost to tourism is among those benefits, so too are long-term investments that create jobs and raise the city’s profile globally.

We highlight this point given our knowledge that since the first staging of Racers Grand Prix in 2016 there has been no organised effort to promote it as an event that has the potential to pull visitors to Kingston.

The fact that Racers Grand Prix is staged by the track club responsible for Mr Usain Bolt — the greatest sprinter of all time and a man whose image is synonymous with Brand Jamaica — makes the event the type for which our tourism authorities should salivate.

Additionally, the fact that the event is included in the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold Series gives it the prestige to be heavily promoted abroad, as that status is one level below the Diamond League.

And while the just-launched Jamaica Athletics Invitational will have its inaugural staging on May 11 at the National Stadium, the organisers’ announcement that it is a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver event should qualify it for attention from our tourism authorities.

KPMG, one of the world’s major accounting firms, has told us in one of its latest analyses that the global sports market — comprising infrastructure, events, training and manufacturing, and retail of sports goods — is estimated at US$600 billion to US$700 billion. That, KPMG pointed out, accounts for approximately one per cent of the global gross domestic product.

The firm also reminded that besides exercising a significant impact on the global economy due to its close association with other sectors, including education, real estate and tourism, sports also contributes to improvements in general health and well-being of a country.

Grabbing our share of that global market and enjoying the associated benefits should not be rocket science.