2012.10.1110:11:00UTC+00UK Economy Gets Modest Boost From Olympic Visitors

The British economy got a mild boost from the money spent by overseas visitors to the country during the Olympic/Paralympic games, possibly helping it avoid a recession.

A report from the Office for National Statistics Thursday said that overall earnings, including the money spent on Olympics tickets, totaled around GBP2.4 billion in August, and total spending increased 9 percent from August last year.

This increase was despite a 5 percent decline in the total number of visits in August to 3 million compared to the same period last year. The average amount spent by Olympic visitors was nearly double that spent by normal visitors, which explains the increase in earnings despite a fall in visits.

"The average amount of money spent by Olympics-visitors was GBP1,290 per person, almost twice as much as the average GBP650 spent by other visitors," the agency said.

Tourist visits had declined in July and June also, as they did in August, but overall spending during those months remained in line with last year. At the same time, the number of visits so far this year was unchanged from last year, while total spending increased by 3 percent.

The majority of visitors for the Games were from Europe, with an equal number coming from North America and other countries around the world.