THE 2012 Olympic Games being staged in London would be a huge boost for North-East tourism, according to a study.

The report, by the London 2012 Nations and Regions Group, said UK tourism would benefit from a rise in visitor numbers if the capital hosted the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

St James' Park in Newcastle is one of six venues outside the capital that has been earmarked for the football competition.

Nine years ago, when the country hosted the Euro 96 football championship, more than 280,000 people spent about £120m in eight host cities and the surrounding regions.

The economic impact is estimated at nearly £200m, which includes additional domestic tourism.

The study identifies industries such as hotels, transport, visitor attractions, leisure and catering as those most likely to gain from the rise in tourism numbers.

Also, the public and private sector will be able to use the opportunity to develop customer databases for use in marketing campaigns and consumer relations initiatives aimed at promoting the region and attracting visitors.

It is estimated that an extra £10m was pumped into Manchester when it hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games and that 6,100 full-time jobs were created.

North-West companies also won related contracts worth a combined total value of £2m.

Birmingham City Council decided that hosting the World Indoor Athletics Championships and World Badminton Championships in 2003 generated £3.5m and £2.5m respectively.

London will find out if its bid has been successful on July 6.

Fifteen per cent of the International Olympic Committee's final judgement criteria will be based on the amount of support London receives from the regions.