PyeongChang Winter Olympics to be a massive boost for Korean economy

PyeongChang’s hosting the Winter Olympics in 2018 will bring massive economic benefits for the country.

According to estimates based on a report compiled in 2008 by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, hosting the games will have the effect of 230,000 jobs and have production inducement effect of more than 20 trillion won ($18.8 billion).

In addition, the report estimated that the event will bring about 8.75 trillion won in added value to the country.

With PyeongChang located in the heart of Gangwon Province, the eastern province is projected to reap most benefits from the event.

According to the projections made in 2008, Gangwon Province will receive production inducement effect of about 11.6 trillion won and nearly 5.4 trillion won in added value created by the Winter Games.

Of the 230,000 jobs created as a result of the event, about 141,000 or 61.3 percent will be created within Gangwon Province.

The provincial government is also projecting that 195,000 foreigners will visit the region during the games, which is scheduled to run from Feb. 9-25 2018, and purchase 490,000 tickets to various events.

Using the average duration of stay seen during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games held in the Salt Lake Winter Games, 7.7 days, and the Korea Japan World Cup, 10.74 days, the foreign visitors are expected to stay in Korea for eight days.

During their stay, foreign visitors are estimated to spend on average 306,000 won per day, which equates to 477.8 billion won in total.

While the 2018 Winter Games is projected to have significant direct economic benefits for the country, other reports have projected that it will bring much larger indirect benefits to the country.

According to a study compiled by the Hyundai Research Institute, the economic boost the games will give Korea will amount to 64.9 trillion won most of which will come after the event.

The report estimated that in the 10 years following the event, Korea will receive indirect benefits whose value equates to about 43.8 trillion won, which is more than double the direct benefits the Hyundai Research Institute projects the event will bring to the country.

As for operations of the games, the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee hopes to raise some $300 million from various sponsors.

The committee projects that automakers, telecom service providers and airlines will be among the top-tier sponsors whose sponsorship will result in about $200 million in profits, with $100 million being raised from lower-tier sponsors.

As for ticket sales, the committee hopes to sell over 2.08 million tickets for the Olympic Games and about 300,000 tickets for the Paralympic Games that follow the main event.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)