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Preparations for the next two Olympic Games in Beijing and London came under the spotlight
on Tuesday at a seminar on “Tourism and Sports”, jointly organized by
the UNWTO and the UK Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport at the World Travel
Market being held in London.
In the presence of the two next hosts of the Olympics, China in 2008 and Britain in 2012, UNWTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli
stressed that “Tourism and Sport are two forces that represent the positive aspects in the globalization process. Large sporting events are
more and more conceived and planned also as large tourism events and sporting activities are an important part of today's tourism
supply.”
The visitor numbers during the duration of the Games is but a small part of the real tourism impact. The most important tourism value is how
these events contribute to position and market the country as a tourist destination beyond the main venue. The next Olympic Games will bring
Beijing into everybody's home around the globe, but also other regions of China will benefit.
London is already one of the world's leading destinations. Nonetheless the Olympic Games represent a unique opportunity for the British
tourism sector to further position the whole United Kingdom as a truly world class destination in a sector characterized by a strong and
increasing global competition.
The Olympic Games have proven to be an important engine for the emergence of a stronger and more efficient tourism sector, establishing new
standards of service quality, infrastructure and organisational ability along the way.
The last Olympics have given Greece a staggering amount of hours on television, exceeding by far what could have been done in years of
publicity efforts. The post-Olympic success of Australia shows how the Games can boost the tourism industry to levels never experienced
before. The Games of 1992 have been the engine of major structural changes of the city of Barcelona, which has taken since then a relevant
place in the map of European destinations.
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