UK Olympics ‘will be a £3bn winner for tourism’
A report in The Scotsman says that the 2012 Olympics could provide a £3 billion boost to the UK tourist industry, according to a study released yesterday.
The event could act as a trigger to outperform global tourism growth by 50 per cent in the four years before and the four years after the Games but there could be a 4.3 per cent decline in growth in the Games year itself.
Travelodge, the budget hotel company, reviewed tourism data from previous Olympic host cities including Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
Should UK tourism perform at this level, £3bn extra spending could be generated by 6.6 million more visitors between 2007 and 2016, it was found.
A market worth £14.2bn today would rise 37 per cent to £24bn in 2016 creating 75,000 more tourism jobs for the economy.
Grant Hearn, Travelodge’s chief executive, said: “What we learn from analysing other Olympics is that a tourism legacy requires detailed early planning, world class airports, attractions, hotels and the creative promotion of the British brand – all of which require serious investment.”
Hosting the Games could help open the door for other sporting and cultural events to come to London.
Yes guys – didn’t we hear this about Sydney………but we failed to capatalise on the Games afterwards!
Report by the Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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