Economic Impact Of India Hosting The Commonwealth Games Tourism Essay

As well as many Olympic sports, the Games also include some sports that are played mainly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls, rugby sevens and netball The Games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which also controls the sporting programmed and selects the host cities. The host city is selected from across the Commonwealth, with eighteen cities in seven countries having hosted it.

The event was first held in 1930 under the title of the British Empire Games in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event was renamed as the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, the British Commonwealth Games in 1970, and gained its current title in 1978. Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Australia has been the highest achieving team for eleven games, England for seven and Canada for one.

There are currently 54 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and 71 teams participate in the Games. The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, and individual teams are also sent from the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man (unlike at the Olympic Games, where the combined “Great Britain” team represents all four home nations and the Crown dependencies). Many of the British overseas territories also send their own teams. The Australian external territory of Norfolk Island also sends its own team, as do the Cook Islands and Niue, two states in free association with New Zealand. It was reported that Tokelau, another dependency of New Zealand would be sending a team to the 2010 Games in New Delhi, India. In the end however they did not.

Common Wealth Games 2010 in India

“To Aim is to Achieve”-India has aimed for successfully hosting the prestigious mega event of Commonwealth Games and India will achieve it. To fulfill this dream an enormous amount of work needs to done. This dream was born long back when India hosted the Asian Games in 1982, the entire nation dream of hosting the Olympics one day. After a long gap of more than 20 years and due to lack to will and infrastructure we were unable to get the opportunity again. This time, the things fall our way and we won the bid to host the nineteenth Commonwealth Games in 2010.

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The vision was to host the mega event in a way it has never happened before and leave a mark in the history of the event organization. As the time passed by the vision became the mission and Delhi has to gear up to create the state of the art infrastructure. New Delhi was deliberately chosen as it has its rich experience of the Asian Games behind. Moreover it has some already existed infrastructure like Indira Gandhi Arena, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Dhyan Chand National stadium etc. The rich culture of Delhi and its hospitality also plays a pivotal role in the organization.

To accomplish the mission a total budget of US$ 1.6 billion is estimated which will make the 2010 event, the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever. Games Village: A new modern games village of 63.5 hectare is being built on the bank of river Yamuna at the cost of USD 230.7 million. It is situated near the renowned landmark Akshardham Temple. The village will hold the capacity of 8500 athletes and officials. The old stadiums like Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium are also getting a facelift. A new society is getting constructed along the village side to provide free accommodation and cutting health facilities to the athletes.

Infrastructure: The preparation is on full swing and Delhi is experiencing a city makeover. To boost up the infrastructure Delhi’s transport was the biggest pain, to eradicate this problem Delhi Metro’s plan was…

POSTIVES OF COMMONWEALTH ON INDIAN ECONOMICS

India is a developing country. Ironically, India is a country which is, on one hand struggling with the problem of poverty since the time of independence while on the other hand is spending millions on the Commonwealth Games.

But the people on the other side of the coin think that it will lead to urban regeneration, economic profit development of Delhi in terms of new hotels, metro extention, flyovers etc. and will give India great exposure to the world through global media.

Economy of the country is complex structure which depends on agriculture innovative developement,manufacturing goods sctor,services rendered by the country ,infrastructure developement etc .The conduction of Sports developes the professionals in the fled of sports and games and bring the country in the eyes of the world with a minor impact on the economy in the form of improving the local infrastructure

Think thrice before doing wrong things but don’t think fraction of second before doing good things

Commonwealth Games 2010 is going to be the biggest Commonwealth Games in history. It is only fair that one should expect that India should get good returns on the amount of resources and time that India has invested in the Games. Yes, one can rightly call it an investment, for the benefits that India can come to gain from the Games are enormous. The Commonwealth Games hold the promise of great economic returns even after they are over.

The development and building of the infrastructure in Delhi in preparation for the Games have already released a lot of money into the economy. The building of sports venues, hotels, flyovers etc have involved many contractors, construction companies, and daily wage earners. The amount of work that is being done across the city is making sure that a lot of jobs are on offer. Even after completion, these projects will require management and maintenance, especially the sports venues, stadiums, and hotels thereby generating more job openings. To accommodate the tourists expected during the Commonwealth Games numerous small hotels, bed & breakfasts and other hotels are being built to meet the requirements as estimated by the government. The Games, even before officially having started are generating jobs on a large scale.

But once the Games start, that is when the Government of India expects to break even and maybe gain even more. ASSOCHAM (The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) predicts that tourism alone is going to bring in US$ 16.915 million in 2010 because of the Games. All tourism industries and industries related to providing services to tourists are expecting a rainfall during the Games, and seeing the above figure, they are right in doing so. India estimates 10 million tourists will visit India in 2010, with a large percentage of them coming during the Games. The main industries expected to benefit from this are Tour Operators, Travel Agents, Hotel Industry, Aviation Industry, Airport Authorities, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. Even the small industries, which produce and market small knick – knacks, such as the markets in Janpath, Sarojni Nagar etc and even the malls and bigger markets are going to benefit during the Games. The cities surrounding Delhi, that serve as weekend getaways and popular tourist destinations, are also looking forward to a large influx of tourists. The games are going to benefit a lot of people indeed.

It is only once the Games get over that the real long term benefits to the Indian economy are going to come into effect. If Delhi can pull off a good show during the Games, Delhi and India may find itself soon becoming a tourist hotspot. The average number of foreign tourists coming to India is going to rise by an estimated 5 – 10% after the Games. Currently India gets only a small percentage of income generated by the tourism industry worldwide. The Games will give Delhi and thus India great publicity as a tourist destination, and give its image as a tourist destination a much-needed boost. The success of the Games holds a lot in its hands. Until now, India has been a tourist destination for the eccentric or adventurous traveler, this all stands to change after the Games, and all this change is good, as it will benefit India and its people.

2. Worldwide Experiences

The world over, cities vie with each other to host “hallmark” events such as the Olympics, World Cup’s etc. It is seen by many as a sure way of shooting the host city into the limelight, resulting in an “economic windfall” (Baade and Matheson, 2003), and at the same time giving these host cities the impetus to improve domestic facilities and infrastructure. The impact of being the host city, range from the physical (construction projects) to the intangible (local self-esteem or international impact). The impact that an event of this kind has on the urban landscape can largely be gauged by the size of the

“Legacy” that it creates. It is important to note here that it is not only legacy creation that is important, but creating a legacy which is beneficial to the host community post games, and which justifies the costs involved.

The controversy surrounding these events however is centred on its economic sense. Do these games make money for the host city or not? The data from past Olympic Games seems to suggest not

Sector Changes caused by the Olympics

Transportation The transportation system is changed by an improved infrastructure and new concepts of public transportation. In Munich ’72, the subway was expanded, in Seoul ’88 many major roads were improved and in Barcelona ’92 the ring roads were built.

Telecommunication system

A high standard in telecommunications is another important location factor to keep

existing, or attract new enterprises. In this sector, the Olympics bring the latest

technology into the city to satisfy the demand in telecommunications services during

the Olympics. After the games, the systems remain existent.

Sports facility structure

Olympics have the strongest influence on the sports facilities structure in the city.

There must be adequate and sufficient sports and training facilities for all sports at

An international level. After the games, these facilities are often available for leisure

Sports.

Housing In most cities, Olympic villages are newly constructed. The question of the social distribution of the newly created housing units is reviewed. In Munich ’72, the

Olympic Village was constructed for the socially deprived groups of society. In other

cities, the Olympic Villages were sold to the middle and lower-upper classes. In Los

Angeles ’84 and Atlanta ’96, the villages continued to be students’ homes.

Urban culture The general embellishment of a city, an improved transportation system, additional leisure time facilities and numerous ecological projects frequently lead to a revival of the city centre by improving the “city atmosphere.”

Source: Preuss, 1998 the costs of these mega-events almost always run in to billions of dollars. Japan spent over $4 billion, and South Korea $2 billion, on new stadiums and infrastructure for the 2002 World Cup. China has spent a reported $20 billion on infrastructure improvements ahead for 2008 Olympics. Athens spent over $1 billion only on security expenses during the 2004 Olympics (Baade, R and Matheson, V, 2003).

Substantial economic impact provides backers of such events with a justification for public subsidies for mega-event infrastructure. They argue that the expenditure must be viewed as an investment that will in turn give returns. However this is a case where vested interests are at stake. Many independent researchers have found that ex ante predictions made by the event organizers of economic impact, far

exceed the ex post estimates. The obvious question that

NEGATIVES OF COMMON WEALTH GAMES

Corruption in Commonwealth Games

There are also allegations of wide spread corruption in various aspects of organising the games including procurement and awarding contracts for constructing the game venues. The Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee on 5th Aug 2010 suspended T S Darbari (joint director in the organizing committee) and Sanjay Mahendroo (deputy director general in the organising committee) following the report of the three-member panel which was probing the financial irregularities related to the Queen’s Baton Relay. Also Organizing Committee treasurer Anil Khanna resigned from the post in the wake of allegations that his son’s firm had secured a contract for laying synthetic courts at a tennis stadium.  

The two principal bids for the 2010 Commonwealth Games

India is a developing country. Focus on the word developing as India is not yet developed. Ironically, India is a country which is, on one hand struggling with the problem of poverty since the time of independence while on the other hand is spending millions on the Commonwealth Games!

Forty percent of India’s population is below the poverty line which clearly indicates that the booming Indian economy is still unable to feed a majority of its citizens.

Climatic change like global warming is causing an agricultural crisis for the peasants all over the country, worsening their conditions which, in turn, is leading to inflation in the economy, energy resources are getting depleted, unskilled and poor people are forced to get involved in unorganized employment with least possible wages and lets not forget the skilled and literate unemployed…but who really cares? India is too busy with Commonwealth Games!

India’s present goal should be the development of human resources, dealing with poverty and creating a healthy, wealthy and literate India. I believe that as a result of the approaching Commonwealth Games, India, especially Delhi is undergoing a complete makeover where the infrastructure is concerned. Lavish five-star hotels, better flyovers, etc, are being constructed. Better buses can be seen running on the roads of Delhi.

Why all this? Just to show that India is on its way to become a developed nation soon?

But can it hide those shabby and disguised slums behind the shimmering and glamorous construction? Can it suppress the cries of those million hungry stomachs? Can it? Unfortunately not!

And can anyone explain how modern infrastructure helps those million unemployed men who have to support half a dozen of their family members without any source of income?

I won’t deny the fact that may be these games will have an international impact and benefit a particular section of the society temporarily. But this is where the most significant question arises that if the games will benefit a certain strata of the society which is already rich and powerful then what happens to those strata of the Indian population which is below the poverty line? Who bears the responsibility of their welfare?

I also agree that the Commonwealth Games will usher in a certain amount of employment but will it offer employment to millions of unemployed? And by the way this is only for a temporary period of time. Then what? Back to square one? Thus, a country like India wearing poverty in the form of national shame cannot afford to conduct such games at the cost of its poverty stricken citizens. Therefore India should first win the race against poverty and then think of going international through such ventures.

Hence India’s poverty and the hosting of Commonwealth Games are not at all compatible as for a nation the welfare of its citizen is its first priority and not the conduction of sports and leisure.

6. Conclusion

One can see that at least on paper; the city is all set to transform itself by the time it plays host to the Commonwealth Games. However it is also necessary to keep one thing in mind, and that is that Delhi is otherwise too a rapidly growing city, a dynamic economy and an integral part of India’s growth engine.

Delhi is estimated to have a population of approx. 192 lakh people by 2010, compared to 140 lakh in 2001, a growth of nearly 40%16. This means that it would be wrong to place the causation of all infrastructure and urban development onto the Commonwealth Games. A large amount of it would probably have taken place anyway, the games just gives it a geographical bias and a deadline.

The world over there is a serious re-think taking place among city officials as well as academics about the way to go about these events. Do they do more harm than good is not a question that has been answered conclusively, as many of the benefits derived are intangible ones. However it has yet to be conclusively shown that these events are beneficial as well and it is crucial to examine each event independently, studying its unique characteristics, as well as examine previous events and try and learn

from their mistakes. Delhi’s citizens have a right to know about the benefits that such events can have to the city, but need to be informed of the downsides as well. The present plan for the Commonwealth Games may be a recipe for an ecological and financial disaster, or they might finally put the city, and the country, on the

world map. They may bring in a new era where electricity and water problems, perennial problems in the city, are no longer an issue or they might increase the burden on an already overloaded system.

Popular perception tells us that the Asian Games was an unmitigated success. Closer analysis tells us that it was not so simple. The Commonwealth Games, with some smart marketing, may just follow in those footsteps.