Consumers will increase their spend by up to £750m during the seven-week period of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to a report by Visa Europe.
During the three-week period between the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games, the economy will receive a £621m spending boost. This will be supplemented by a further £129m spending boost during the Paralympic Games. This would mark an uplift of 18.5% above what would be expected over the same period, had the Games not taken place.
The report, entitled “Golden Opportunity – London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Expenditure and Economic Impact” was released to mark the 25th anniversary of Visa’s global sponsorship of the Olympic Games.
The retail, leisure and travel sectors look set to be the biggest winners of the Games, benefiting from a combined spending injection of £508.4m in seven weeks. The hotel sector will benefit from a predicted £122.6m spending profit whilst the entertainment and food and drink industry will benefit from an extra £81.5m.
The report further predicts that this record spend will result in an ongoing financial stimulus worth £5.1bn to the UK economy by 2015.
The data analysed for the report includes international visitor spending at previous Olympic Games and major sporting tournaments, domestic spending at previous Olympic Games and major sporting tournaments, typical spending of international visitors in London and spending patterns of UK consumers during big sporting events like the World Cup.
Marc O’Brien, Managing Director, Visa UK said: “As the report shows, the UK will benefit from an immediate positive economic impact as a result of a large increase in consumer spending during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Much like the World Cup, British consumers are expected to boost supermarket sales by £80m as Britain lives up to its reputation as a nation of sport lovers, meaning for the first time domestic spend is forecast to grow during a Games, previously unheard of for a host market. What’s so encouraging for the wider economy is the ripple effect this will cause – economic output will increase and the benefits will be felt in people’s pockets as incomes increase. This immediate positive economic boost will translate into sustained economic stimulus and job creation, impacts which will be felt long after the Games have finished.”
London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “I am determined that hosting the Games in 2012 will transform the wider job prospects and economic future for Londoners – this is already happening, and we can and must sustain that effect for years to come.”
