Olympics economy thrives in Beijing

(BOCOG)
Updated: 2006-08-17 15:17There's exactly 2 years to go before the Bejing Olympics in 2008. And organisers say preparations are on schedule.

Russian tourists were fascinated by 2008 Olympic mascots. [BOCOG]

The cost of staging the Games amounts to billions of dollars. But it also creates tons of opportunities. We look at how businesses in Beijing are getting their hands on a piece of the lucrative Olympic pie.

This is an Olympic franchise store located on Beijing's busiest tourist street, Wangfujing . Over 700 Olympics licensed items are on sale, from a one US dollar pen, to a medal made from real gold priced at nearly 30 thousand dollars.

The store is bustling with customers, especially during the tourism season. This lady has just bought a set of Olympic mascots for her children.

A customer said:"These five mascots cost 298 yuan. I think it's sort of expensive."

A set of Olympic mascots priced at nearly 40 US dollars is definitely not cheap for most Chinese consumers. But that doesn't seem to have dampened sales. The sales manager boasts that the store has sold over 40 million yuan, or around 5 million US dollars, worth of products in the first six months of this year alone. And with the Beijing 2008 Olympics approaching, the manager expects sales to keep growing.

Olympic mascots represent just a small share of the lucrative Olympics pie. Experts say economic benefits from the Olympics are far more profound.

Beijing Olympic economy research association vice president Chen Jian said:"Beijing's total Olympics related investment is expected to reach 300 billion yuan, or over 37 billion US dollars. Such a huge investment in areas such as infrastructure construction and environmental up-grading, are expected to greatly boost Beijing's image and quality of life."

Experts say holding the Olympics will benefit a host of industries in Beijing, such as construction, logistics, insurance and real estate. Tourism will be also be a big winner.

Beijing Olympic economy research association vice president Chen Jian said:"It's estimated that Beijing will receive over 500 thousand overseas visitors during the 2008 Olympiad. And the revenue from overseas tourists for the whole year of 2008 is expected to top five billion US dollars."

Some Chinese enterprises are banking on long term benefits. So far a total of 27 Chinese enterprises have inked deals with the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee as Olympics partners, sponsors or suppliers for the 2008 Olympics. They hope to boost their brand recognition through such cooperation.

For Beijing, a successful Olympiad goes far beyond running a great sporting event. The city has high hopes that the Olympics will greatly benefit its economy. This challenge will be a new task facing both the government and businesses alike.