Travelers from all over the world will make their way to Rio this summer for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Visa looked at who they are and how they’re spending in host countries, past and present.
Olympic Games: Travel + Spend Forecast
Brazil bound
Brazil should expect an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 new visitors during the event month of August¹—with 1.2 million new visitors in 2016 compared to non-Olympic years.²
Most of those guests will likely come from Brazil’s neighbors—Latin America and Caribbean—with European and North American fans traveling close behind.²
Who’s going?
Based on data¹ from the 2012 London Olympic Games, travelers to the Olympic Games skew younger, more male and more diverse (with an increase in travelers from emerging markets).
Big spenders
Tourists during the Olympic Games period spent twice as much per visit than regular tourists—and 1 in 5 travelled to destinations outside host city London.
Travelers from emerging markets (Poland, Russia and Brazil topped the share of EM visitors to London 2012) spent more per visit than visitors from advanced economies.
Overall, the top five spending countries at London 2012 were U.S., France, Australia, Netherlands and Canada, collectively accounting for nearly half of the £731.4 million total spend.
SOURCES: ¹U.K.’s Office of National Statistics, according to data from the London 2012 Olympic Games; ²Tourism Economics
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