Paris Olympics Driving Tourism Boost for London: EE

Following early success for Team GB as Tom Daley, Noah Williams, Adam Peaty, and Anna Henderson all won medals at the Olympic Games, there is more cause for celebration as an influx of international visitors to London is generating £10.6 million for the UK economy.

Analysis of the EE mobile network has shown the number of international visitors in central London has increased by 13% in the last week in the lead up to the Olympic Games, with an additional 100,000 tourists basing themselves in and exploring the UK’s capital city compared to the same week in 2023.

With tourists visiting the UK spending £106 per night on average², this increase equates to a boost of more than £10.6 million to the UK economy.

Mexico topped the charts with the biggest increase in international visitors to central London (137%), closely followed by China (125%), with South Korea (47%), India (37%), and Japan (37%) rounding out the top five.

This is markedly different to the same period last summer when more tourists from European nations like France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium visited central London.

Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer at BT Group, commented: “There is a reason why it is called the ‘greatest show on Earth’ and that’s because the Olympic and Paralympic Games have true global appeal. With London’s proximity to Paris, we’re seeing more visitors from long-haul destinations relying on our network when they head to the UK this summer.

“To effectively manage major influxes of tourists at peak times, we have enhanced our EE mobile connectivity with additional 4G and 5G capacity in key locations across London, including Underground stations. This is helping all visitors to the UK stay connected while they experience everything our great capital city has to offer.”

EE’s mobile network is now reliably connecting more people, in more places than ever before following a record expansion in the last five years. This includes activating reliable 4G and 5G coverage across more than 80 stations and tunnels on Transport for London’s (TfL) Underground network, with many of the most popular stations for tourists such as Covent Garden, Oxford Circus, Bond Street and Camden Town all getting enhanced mobile connectivity.

To ease mobile congestion in busy locations and at peak times, EE has also installed more than 500 small cells throughout London. These ‘mini mobile-masts’ have been added to existing street furniture like phone boxes, lampposts, CCTV columns and BT’s Digital Street Hubs, to enhance street-level mobile coverage and capacity.

Combined, this is directly helping both the UK economy and tourists who visit the country, who can access the EE network through their smartphones to book tickets for travel or entertainment, research London’s best restaurants and event venues, use digital services and apps, share their experiences on social media and contact loved ones back home.