The 2012 Summer Olympics in London have finally arrived! And so have all the tourists. As London hosts the Olympic Games for its fourth time in history, travelers are flocking to the country to get in on the action and watch the Games right from the Olympic venues. For London, this mean tourism is at a high.
While four billion people will be watching the Games on televisions around the world, half a million people will be watching them in person in London.
HomeAway.com created an infographic breaking down all the of the expected Olympic tourism numbers and has provided some fun facts about what will be going on in London during the Games.
As estimated 500,000 people are expected to attend the daily Olympic events. This number is the population of Liverpool itself. An estimated four billion people, or half of the world's population is expected to watch the Games on TV.
An estimated 294,000 people from overseas are expected to visit London for the Games. About 10,5000 athletes from all over the world are in the city to participate in the Games. Along with them come 7,500 officials. Despite the craziness of the Games, 587,000 people from other parts of the UK are expected to stay in London for the Olympics. Five and half million people are predicted to make day trips to London.
As the Olympics are a worldwide event, people from all over the world are flocking to London for the Games. Nineteen percent are coming from the United States, 8.2 percent are arriving from Germany, and six percent are arriving from Down Under in Australia. Large groups are also coming from Italy, Russia, Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands, France, and other parts of the U.K. However 44.6 percent will be arriving from all other parts of the globe.
As tourism will feed London during the Olympics, tourists can expect to pay up for their trip to the Games. The lowest hotel prices according to HomeAway.co.uk and Hotels.com are £50 and £114, respectively. The highest prices are £500 to £1,554 according to the websites. Over the year, hotels have seen a change in the average price. Last year an average hotel room in London cost £91. With the Olympics in town, the average room is £161.
Of course people need a ticket to attend the Olympic events. The price ranges vary significantly. The cheapest ticket cost £20.12. Most people paid the average of £40 per ticket, however the most expensive ticket cost £2,012. Overall, nine million tickets were sold.
In addition to crunching numbers about London Olympic tourism, HomeAway also factored in some fun facts about the city. London will host the biggest McDonald's restaurant in the world at 32,000 sq. ft. This massive McDonalds will serve over 1.75 million meals during the Games. Several tourists may also want to stop by the 2.9 million sq. ft. Westford Stratford City as it's Europe's largest shopping mall.
Travelers can pick up Wi-Fi at over 500,000 Wi-Fi hotspots around London for the Games. One thousand of the hotspots are around the Olympic Park and other venues.
Since there will be so many people in town, precautions are being set and security is tight. 13,500 troops have been deployed to London just to watch over the city during the Games.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
