No Olympic Games dividend for the Highlands
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Increasingly, the news flow has been more negative. Earnings estimates have been lowered as reality sets in as to what the true potential impact of the Games will be.
It’s easy to become disenchanted with the Olympic dream when stuck in traffic on the A96, the A9, the A82 or any other major road in the area which requires an upgrade. Whilst London and the east end in particular will no doubt feel the benefit of infrastructure improvements for some time, it’s doubtful that much, if any, of this will be felt in the Highlands.
Whilst national and local agencies are doing their best to capitalise on the increased international exposure which the Games will bring and entice visitors to the north of Scotland, there is already a feeling that the benefit outside of the south-east will be marginal.
A steady flow of reports have tried to estimate the impact of the Games across the UK.
The Olympic Games was always going to displace a number of “normal” tourists to London who were going to be put off by travel chaos and the potential terrorist threat but, with the Games under way, businesses (and investors) will now discover what that actually means as far as trading is concerned.
A study by the European Tour Operators Association found that hosting the Olympics did not have a positive effect on tourism in either Athens or Sydney; in fact it had the opposite effect. This could significantly hurt the travel and leisure companies which rely on consistent tourism.
Given that tourism is worth some £640 million to our local economy (which translates to £3,000 for every person living in the Highlands) and accounts for 14 per cent of the area’s workforce, any negative effect due to the Games will be keenly felt by local businesses.
Overall, we believe the main beneficiaries of the Olympics will be the hotel industry in the south-east (due to short term increased prices), London pubs and southern train and bus operators.
Whether any benefit will spread further afield still remains to be seen.
Despite attempts to capitalise on the event, past experience suggests that the Highlands may not receive an Olympic dividend.
