A Ticket to the Olympics: An Assessment of the "Olympic Effect" on Tourism

Previous studies on the topic of the 'Olympic Effect' and its impact on tourism reveal both positive and negative returns for host countries as well as unsuccessful bid host countries. The returns experienced, as explained by subject scholars, are greatly dependent on a variety of factors, many of which are uncontrollable. Therefore, it is an undeniable risk for a country to host a sporting mega-event; however, the potential successful outcome generally overshadows any concern. Building off of previous research conducted, this paper explores the effects host countries and unsuccessful bid host countries of sporting mega-events experience in regards to tourism after an event takes place. It not only examines the Olympics, but also observes the FIFA Men's World Cup, since it is considered the second largest sporting mega-event after the Olympics. In this analysis, hosts and unsuccessful bid hosts were observed under a variety of controls to fully understand factors that affect outcomes on tourism. The majority of results show a positive increase in tourism for hosts and unsuccessful bid hosts. However, it is apparent that many of these results are byproducts of a naturally occurring time trend that causes sectors such as tourism to increase over time.