Hoteliers are likely to benefit from the large number of foreign fans, but experts believe the European Championship will not necessarily improve the German economy.
Despite enormous expectations and millions of fans spending bigexperts agree that the football euro cup will not be able to take out german economy of years of stagnation.
According to a sports economist from the University of Cologneresearch shows that, broadly speaking, similar sporting events tThey have minimal economic impact and they can even be negative.
“The role of the substitution mechanism is important. It means that people don’t necessarily spend more money, he simply spends it in another way. While they normally go to the cinema or the theater, now they spend their money on gamesin bars or barbecues at home,” explains Jonas Froch.
Consumption does not increase, it transforms
The German Institute for Economic Research came to a similar conclusion. The director of the institute declared to ‘Reuters’ that people may buy a new television because of the Euro Cup, but you will save money spent on something else. So that, consumption does not increasebut it is transformed.
Of course, that doesn’t mean no one is benefiting. UEFA, for example, can expect to obtain a profit of one thousand five hundred million euros, and society can also benefit from the tournament. One of the best examples of this was the 2006 Germany World Cupthe consequences of which have been analyzed in detail by economists.
How much money can the Eurocup generate?
“There may be intangible effects: people’s quality of life can improve, social cohesion and morale can rise. This effect was especially strong in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany.
There are studies that attribute a value of 800 million euros to intangible assets generated in 2006. And that is approximately the amount of public money that an organizing committee has to spend on an event like this,” Froch said.
Restaurants and hotels, among the most benefited
Four of the ten headquarters of the Euro Cup They are found in and around the Ruhr area. The area was once the center of German heavy industry, but since the crisis of the coal and steel industries in the 70s It has been moving increasingly towards services. Some of the disused industrial complexes have also found new uses.
One of the emblematic places of the transformation of the Ruhr is lZollverein coal minein Essen, closed in 1986 and declared Heritage of humanity by unesco.
Today, tourists walk, locals run, cycle and even work among the huge rusty buildings, with offices in some of the warehouses. The importance of football is also evident herewith the area covered in stickers of the local teams.
“We spend between one hundred and one hundred and fifty pounds a day”
The area remains a very important center for the German economy. And the influx of tourists undoubtedly benefits local hoteliers and accommodation providers.
“We spend between one hundred and one hundred and fifty pounds a day. We drink a lot, we eat well. We had a good time, so it’s okay,” says one Scottish fan.
Prices for hotel rooms have risen several times by euros. In recent days hWe have met Hungarian fans who couldn’t find any affordable accommodation and they ended up sleeping in their car.
