The economic benefits of hosting the Olympics:
Olympics
The boom to the economy that the Government hoped the Games would bring to [London] appears to become a bust with tens of thousands to tourists spurning the hiked prices, congestion and heightened security. While bookings for July and August are down by 35 per cent on last year other European capitals appear to be prospering from London's gloom. French ministers, who lost the Olympic bid to Britain, might be quietly rubbing their hands with glee not only for dodging the £10 billion Games bill but also with a 50 per cent rise in tourism bookings. Similarly Barcelona and Berlin have seen their tourist numbers soar by 100 per cent over the summer…. [JacTravel CEO Terry] Williamson added that "normal tourism" in other Olympic capitals such had Sydney, Beijing and Barcelona had dropped significantly during the Games and "took some time to recover".
Previously in Reason: When London beat Paris for the right to host the 2012 games, we greeted the news with the headline "Lucky Paris."
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