Long-Term Impact of a Mega-Event on International Tourism to the Host Country:

Abstract

The purposes of this study are to present a conceptual framework for identifying and understanding the long-term impacts of a mega-event on international travel to the host country and to apply a component of that conceptual framework in an analysis of international visitation to Korea as a result of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. Study results indicate (1) mega-events do have a long-term impact on the international tourism to the host country; (2) that impact is greatest in the year following the event and diminishes over time; and (3) in the case of Korea the value of the benefit realized in a three-year period is estimated to be $1.3 billion.