Like the Rugby World Cup In NZ the economic benefits have been exaggerated and likely to be a burden on the British economy.
Games
Turn London Into 'Ghost Town'
The
Olympics is creating a “ghost town” effect in central London as
visitors who would normally flock to the capital’s shops, hotels
and theatres stay away, casting doubt on expectations of a short-term
economic boost from the games.
CNBC,
26
April, 2012
The
games have attracted as many as 100,000 foreign visitors to London —
more than in previous Olympics. But, on its own, that number
significantly lags behind the estimated 300,000 foreign tourists who
could be expected in a typical year.
Theatres
are among the businesses suffering most from emptier streets.
“We’re
bleeding, darling,” said Nica Burns, chief executive of Nimax
Theatres. “For my six theatres, last week was the worst this year.
I think the Olympics are great — but I feel like I’ve been the
bullseye for the archery competition.”
Ms
Burns forecast that ticket sales at her company’s six West End
theatres would be down 30 percent over the summer.
London’s
top museums and tourist attractions are also feeling the pinch. The
Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, the body representing
them, reported a fall of 30-35 percent in attendance over the past
two weeks, compared with last year.
Bernard
Donoghue, ALVA’s chief executive, said its members — who include
the British Museum, the Tower of London and the Science Museum —
“have been trying to compensate by telling people there are fewer
queues and longer opening hours”.
Transport
for London, the public body that runs the capital’s Underground and
road network, has been warning for months of heavy disruption over
the summer in central London and urging travelers to avoid transport
hubs and plan alternative routes. The voice of Boris Johnson,
London’s mayor, has boomed from station platforms warning of the
imminent “huge pressure” on the transport system.
TfL
said estimates of journeys on the Tube were up 4 percent on Monday
from normal traffic.
In
response to slow bookings, hotels have now cut prices. Research by
Hotels.com said prices in London during the Olympics had fallen
around 25 percent in a two-week period in June.
Nick
Palan, managing director for Golden Tours, an open-top tour bus
company, said: “It’s totally destroyed the market for us this
summer. The hotels put up prices heavily earlier in the year and some
of the larger tour companies literally stopped selling London back in
May. We’re down by over 20 percent.”
David
Cameron, prime minister, has said 13 billion pounds of economic
investment should flow from the games over four years, some of which
is from tourism.
But
in the short term, the benefits are more elusive. Mark Field, a
London Conservative MP, said: “The message has been going out for
months that London would be packed to the rafters — and the
transport system would be under pressure — and that has put a lot
of people off. The high-end hoteliers are fine because of all the
official Olympic guests but many others have not benefited so much.”
Mr
Donoghue of ALVA said the body had asked TfL to alter its advice to
travelers: “As long as you avoid peak times and stations, London is
surprisingly accessible and open for business.”
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