Known for his bearish economic predictions, as he was the one who predicted the financial crisis of 2008, the American economist Nouriel Roubini says that the Olympics will leave a mark on the British economy and will destroy London. Roubini wrote today on Twitter that British authorities have scared tourists and locals about the congestion in London, produced after the start of the Olympics, that the city center has become utterly deserted.
“They scared away all non-olympic tourists that pack London all summer,” wrote the economist. “The Olympics are an economic failure as London is totally empty:hotels, restaurants, streets. They scared all off with crowd excess warnings,”said Roubini.
London, a ghost town that everybody follows from the distance
Shops, theaters and companies are no longer London alive with the bustle of tourists, as it happened so far. Is it the warnings and London police’s measures to avoid traffic jams caused by the euphoria of the Olympics, hosted this summer in London. Visitor numbers fell by one third compared to projected estimates, writes the Daily Mail.
Fear of traffic chaos caused by an event of this magnitude brought only 100,000 tourists in London. Estimates indicate 300,000 visitors, however, far from the real figure. Moreover, the main tourist attractions are 35% less visited since the beginning of the Olympic Games. Hotel reservations have not recorded increases in this period, according to Daily Mail.
Surprising is that offices of large companies were out of employees. Only one third of all employees in London went to work, the rest preferring to work from home. Ministers are considering to change this because both restaurants around the large companies are affected, and means of transportation.
Taxi drivers are also unhappy. Steve McNamara, a member of the Association of Licensed Taxi Drivers said: “90% of our clients are Londoners, but all have left town. I do not understand where all the tourists or how do they move through the city, but London now looks like a ghost town.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron estimates that the mega-event this summer will generate £13 billion worth of business over the next four years. Most of this comes from tourism. An analysis of the central Bank of England show that GDP would increase by 0.25% in the third quarter.
On the other hand, independent economists warn that the Olympics have negative effects on the economy. “Yes, there are many tourists, and costs could be high, but the famous Oxford Street is deserted and there are many employees working in the office with eyes on TV for the Olympic Games broadcasts,” said George Buckley, an economist quoted by Daily Mail.
The International Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has pulled the alarm among British analysts, saying that this will be a year of economic downturn. British economy declined by 0.7 percent in the second quarter, representing the longest recession in the last 100 years.
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