Are the British and Irish Lions tours as significant for the host country as they are for the touring side?

For players of the four nations that comprise the Lions being selected for a tour is seen as a major achievement in one’s career. For Lions fans it can be a bucket-list trip and coverage of games shows many blocks of these fans at every match.

But for the host country it is once every 12 years that it happens, a player will need a long international career to appear twice and may not ever appear. As the Lions are a best-15 team from these nations are these matches actually seen as bigger than a individual touring nation? What is in it for host’s teams and players for the tour matches and Test series?