British tourist industry eyes massive boom from Games
VisitBritain sees the Olympics as a perfect platform to boost the international marketing of London and Britain, particularly in developing markets such as China, Korea and India.
Property website propertyfinder.com said within hours of the announcement that some people close to the Olympic site had taken their homes off the market in anticipation that prices would rise.
Managing director Jim Buckle said: "The Olympics will give a tremendous boost to London and the rest of the UK.
"They will force considerable and much needed transport infrastructure investment on London. That will do more to enhance Londoners' quality of life than anything else and will also boost the property market in the areas which benefit most from new transport links," he added.
All involved in the winning bid are confident that the capital's transport system can cope with the thousands who will flock to the Games' venues.
Improved rail links are at the heart of the Olympic transport plans.
It is hoped that every Olympic venue will be served by at least one rail line, while 90% of venues will be serviced by three or more public transport options. Ten rail lines will carry 240,000 people every hour to the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London.
The 140mph "Olympic Javelin" shuttle trains will get 25,000 spectators an hour from St Pancras station in north-central London to the Olympic Park the journey taking just seven minutes.
Trains will also transport people from Ebbsfleet in Kent to the Olympic Village in 10 minutes. In total, trains will carry 240,000 passengers an hour to the Olympic Village from more than 300 stations.
Around 80% of the Olympic athletes and more than 95% of the Paralympic athletes will be within 20 minutes of their venues.
Stratford International station, close to the Olympic Stadium, will be operational from 2007 when the second, and final part, of the Channel Tunnel high-speed rail link opens.
The Olympic area will also benefit from improvements and, in some cases extensions, to the Docklands Light Railway, the East London Line, the North London Line and Fenchurch Street to Southend Line.
For those travelling to the Olympics by Tube, the Underground's Jubilee line will have got additional rolling stock and line upgrades to increase capacity by 45% by 2012 and the District line will have new trains.
The Tube's Piccadilly line will extend to Heathrow's new Terminal 5 which is due to open in 2008.
There will be two major park-and-ride sites.
Local public transport (except for the Heathrow Express train) will be free for spectators with tickets on the day of the event.
The Olympic Park will be served by 20 bus routes.
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