Not bad at all.

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) made a record NZ$33 million (€19.5 million) profit from last summer’s British and Irish Lions tour.

Over 342,000 tickets were sold on the 10-match tour, with almost every game selling out across the country. Tens of thousands of fans made the long journey, and there was no sign of pennies being counted.

NZR said the amount received is double what the got the last time the Lions visited New Zealand back in 2005. The government has also revealed the economy benefited to the tuned of around NZ$245 million.

Chief executive Steve Tew said the rugby organisation would use the extra cash wisely.

“The reality is we won’t have those advantages over the next three years, but we have planned for that and will therefore continue to be smart about our costs and where our priorities lie,” he said.

I was in New Zealand myself last summer, and for anyone thinking of making the trip next time, do it, you won’t regret it. As you can see from the figures above, it’s not cheap, but you can’t put a price on memories.

[via the42]