Olympics could boost London tourism by $5b

LONDON - London's tourism industry could benefit to the tune of £2 billion pounds ($5.2 billion) thanks to the 2012 Olympic Games, the organising committee's Keith Mills said to day.

Mills, deputy chairman of the London Games organisers, said that Olympic-related tourism had emerged as one of the key economic legacies for host cities and countries that have staged the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

"The experience of other cities indicates that London's visitor economy could benefit from as much as 2 billion pounds as a result of the Games," Mills told tourism industry representatives in London.

"The Olympic Games in London will showcase the capital's people, places, cultures and capabilities to the world like never before."

- REUTERS