The development of hotel industry due to mega sport event. The case of Euro 2012 in Poland

The implications of mega sports events for the organiser’s economy remain virtually unexplored in Poland. The fact that our country was entrusted with organising the 2012 European Football Championship spurred interest in the issue. In the course of preparations to the event many doubts have arisen as to the actual cost-benefit balance affecting the hosting country. An attempt at arriving at the nagging question, i.e.: „Is organisation of such a large event profitable from the economic point of view?” is hindered by the specificity of events of the kind. This specificity is due not only to the huge scale of the projects pursued, but also to the long-term impact on the organiser’s economy, stretching long beyond the several-year period of preparations. The organization of Euro 2012 in Pomerania was an event without precedent. Never before has such a large event had no place in Poland. The consequence of this state of affairs is unprecedented scale of the changes in the infrastructure environment. These changes flow to the SME sector, which attempted to capture the benefits from the fact of the Euro organization, although the results of the research presented in the article indicate the exceptional restraint in this regard. As many as 87% of the surveyed companies had not taken any action before the final tournament, even though they treated the event as a chance to develop. Because of football meetings played in Pomerania the hotel business was an industry which expected the greatest benefits. It should be emphasized the importance of promoting the city and wider the whole region for the future operation and development of this sector.