The Winter Olympics is putting Turin firmly on the tourist map, as it tries to shrug off its industrial reputation as an auto-maker and evolve into a diverse metropolitan centre.

Having evaluated the 20th Winter Olympics Italian Eta Meta Research institute says the global event will bring a turnover of more than 3.2 billion euros ($3.8 bn) to the city of nearly a million and to Italy.

“The Turin Games will improve the image of our country and it will develop the tourist business, it has already created new employment opportunities,” said Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the local supervisor of the Olympic Games in a statement.

A recent study by Rome University also found that Torino 2006 will add 0.2 percent to the national GDP and three percent to that of Piedmont alone - the area where the Olympics is being held.

This amounts to 17.4 billion euros over the next five years and 57,000 new jobs on average each year.

According to data contained in the study, the 1.1 billion euros operational budget of the organising committee - covered from private resources - has served as a catalyst for a total investment of 13 billion euros.

This investment has brought an additional 17.4 billion euros for the overall Italian economy, about 60 percent of which is concentrated in the years 2005 and 2006.

According to official sources the government has given 368 million euros specifically to the Italian tourism industry to cover the Olympic Games.

For the hotel industry overall investment has amounted to 71 million euros and has resulted in 11,000 new beds and 64 brand new hotels.

The beneficiaries have been the Olympic area and the local communes as far as one hour’s drive from the venue.

The five-star hotel on the morainic hill of Rivoli and Palazzo Saluzzo di Paesana in Torino, a historical residence has been turned into a luxury bed and breakfast.
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