Positive Impacts of London Olympics to UK Economy - Essay Example

? Positive Impacts of London Olympics to UK Economy October 27 The Olympics are known to be one of the largest sporting activities globally, which means that the games bring with them significant economic impacts to the host country. This is in relation to the economy and infrastructure, as well as labour and the people where the games are expected to have benefited the UK. The impact of the Olympic Games to United Kingdom will ever be felt and seen even after the games ended in relation to economic advancements, developments and features, which include unmatched infrastructure and other economic impacts. From the economic standpoint of the United Kingdom, it has benefited tones following the Olympics being held in the country. This is because of tourism and its affiliate industries that have ripped the benefits brought about by the significant global event being held therein. The tourism sector has reaped following the development of the country’s cultural heritage, this is as compared to its earlier bid in 1992, when the country attempted to host the Olympics as opposed to Barcelona, in the year 2012, more financial gain has been achieved. In this case, domestic tourism was estimated to increase to over 2% annually prior to the event while it would peak during the event. In addition, there were over 18million visitors attending events allied to the cultural Olympiad meant to commemorate the Olympics being held in London (Oxford Economics 2012, p.15). This shows how much the tourism sector has gained in its promotion of local or rather domestic tourism; moreover, there was also the case of the Olympic torch Relay, before the Olympics took place, which promoted more tourism that generated revenue. The revenue was from indirect tourism activities, such as purchase of transport tickets, food, beverages and souvenirs to commemorate the passing of the Olympic Torch. During the event, there were estimates of over 16,000 athletes participating in the events of the Olympics accompanied by their technical crews. This brings the number of international tourists to a high of over 20,000 of which, spectators and dignitaries are not included (Oxford Economics 2012, p.16). This shows how much the UK gained from international tourism, which brought in significant amounts of foreign exchange and sold more of the English culture to the rest of the world. It also creates an opportunity for international marketing of the UK as a tourist’s destination after the Olympics. In addition to the economy, the Olympics have set the UK as a destination for business tourism; this is following packages developed by different companies in an attempt to cash in on the Olympics held in London. Such companies include Excel and O2 with a significant case of event venues tailored to meet the needs of business tourists due to the lack of dedicated international conference centres in the UK (Communities and Local Government 2009, p.49). In addition, following the influx of tourists, other industries such as housing and rent have enjoyed the benefits of the Olympics. In housing and accommodation services, the Olympic Games created an opportunity for property owners to rent out their properties to interested parties. This happened for prices similar to those that were used in previous Olympics, where the rental price went up by over ten times the normal going rate. As a result, the economy has reaped significant economic benefits in form of finances from domestic and international tourists who were interested in living near the venue of the games. In relation to transport, the United Kingdom has achieved substantial progress all thanks to hosting the Olympic Games since before the games were held; the country had to make preparations in readiness for the games, which means that there must have been infrastructural developments to handle the large amounts of traffic. In this case, traffic refers to both human and vehicular systems that include motor vehicles and trains meant to assist in the movement of people to and from places of interest. In addition, the Olympic Games have built the confidence of the people to trust the public transport system due to its efficiency; this is in relation to its continued delivery of quality services to the public and those attending the various Olympics events. This means that the operators of public transport systems stand to rake in more income from ferrying more passengers thanks to the excellent reputation they created during the Olympics. In addition, the construction during the Olympics period played a key role in expanding the transportation infrastructure in land and its environs. This is following the development of new of transport networks that link different parts of London, especially eastern London. This is because the area developed substantially during the games allowing access to the area especially following the large increase in population (Goldman Sachs 2012, p.5). In addition, the Olympic Games have led to rapid modernization of transport services. This is in relation to infrastructure such as then underground and Docklands Light Rail in an attempt to cut back on the pollution related to high transport rates. The country has also ripped benefits from the Olympic Games following the reduced congestion that was experienced because of expanded transport systems. This means that the UK gained substantially since without the Olympics the remaining infrastructure can still handle the reduced population using the transport system. In addition, the UK has benefited concerning the environment due to reduced emissions of both sound and noise. On the other hand, airports have received a significant boost from increased traffic from international tourists looking to enjoy the English culture after the tourism marketing from the Olympic Games. The United Kingdom has also benefited from the Olympic Games following the drop in the unemployment rates, especially in East London. The rate of unemployment dropped by a surprise 0.1 percent in the country to 8.1 percent, as compared to 11.1 percent in the euro zone, which has 11.1 percent. The Olympic Games created over 61,000 new jobs, which were around London and were based on support staff, customer service and hospitality staff (Peacock, 2012). This shows the efforts that the Olympics caused the private sector to compensate for redundancies in the public sector, which occurred by creating jobs to establish equilibrium between the two sectors. In addition, the country benefited from the drop in unemployment among the youth, which has been both a national and a political problem (Stewart, 2012). This is following the rise in the number of people in self-employment by over 30,000 to reach 4.2 million, which shows substantial growth in UK’s economy and a sharp decline in unemployment woes (Peacock, 2012). In addition, the Olympics have resulted in improved skills among workers across the country following training prior to the games (Oxford Economics 2012, p.30). This translates to members of the public workers and some of the unemployed having received some form of training that could e of use to them after the games. In conclusion, the United Kingdom has reaped the benefits of the Olympic Games on a large scale in all sectors of its economy. Therefore, in relation to this, it is safe to say that the Olympics were a blessing for the nation in spite of the costs involved in organizing the games. References Communities and Local Government. (2009). London 2012 Olympic Games: Scoping the analytical and legacy issues for Communities and Local Government. [Online]. Available from: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/regeneration/pdf/1327818.pdf [Accessed 27/10/2012]. Goldman Sachs. (2012). The Olympics and economics 2012. [WWW]. Available from: http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/topics/global-economic-outlook/olympics-and-economics-.pdf [Accessed 27/10/2012]. Oxford Economics. (2012).The Economic Impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. [Online]. Available from: http://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/media/pdfs/lbg/2012/Eco_impact_report.pdf [Accessed 27/10/2012]. Peacock, L. (2012). Unemployment falls as London Olympics boost Jobs. [Online]. The Telegraph. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/9407770/Unemployment-falls-as-London-Olympics-boosts-jobs.html [Accessed 27/10/2012]. Stewart, H. (2012). Olympics Boost helps Cut UK Unemployment to 2.58m. [Online]. theGuardian. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/18/olympics-boost-cut-uk-unemployment [Accessed 27/10/2012]. Read More