By Olympics  Desk

Being the host city of the Olympic Games does not deliver the tourism boost that it has been linked with or its perceived benefits.

In fact, Olympic Games scare tourists away from host cities, new figures reveal. The assumption that Olympic Games boost their hosts’ tourism growth rates is a ‘myth’ said Tom Jenkins, executive director of the European Tour Operators Association to the Financial Times.

The result of welcoming such a massive scale of sports performance in a city is to drive visitors away not only during the Games themselves, but in the months leading up to them too, reported the Financial Times.

Latest tourism figures from Greece and Australia show that the two latest Olympic Games hosts have been unable to keep up with the growth rates of their regional competitors.

Source: Financial Times