Olympics ticket sales boost UK growth
Britons shelling out for London 2012 tickets will give a one-off £400 million "Olympic bounce" to the UK in the second quarter of the year, it was predicted today.
The rush to snap up the 6.6 million tickets on sale to UK households across 649 different events should add 0.2% to overall growth between April and June, ING Bank senior economist James Knightley said.
The Games are still more than a year away but the purchases will count in official figures immediately as the money is spent now. Sales to foreign visitors will also boost exports, increasing the UK's pace of expansion to 0.5% for the second quarter despite the extra day's holiday for the Royal Wedding, ING added.
But the reverse will be true later in the year as sports fans - many of whom will have spent thousands on tickets - pay off their credit cards. Knightley warned: "We may see a softer third quarter number as people pay their credit card bills, which will leave less money to spend on other goods and services."
He added: "Our overall view on subdued consumer spending growth in general in 2011 still holds given wages are failing to keep pace with the cost of living, job worries persist, taxes are going up and benefit payments are being squeezed."
