The Olympic Games are set to cause a major impact across several UK business sectors and industries. And even if most of those impacts are yet to be fully measured and understood, one thing is for sure: London will be a busy, busy place for next four or five weeks, with tourist pouring from all over the world.

Like any travel expert will tell you, everything’s important along the chain of services that affects a travel experience – hotels, restaurants, travel agents, but also transportation, security and health care, among others. And it all starts with the arrival at the airport.

Heathrow airport has always been one of the busiest of the world, even before the Games.  However, the all-time record of passengers arrivals in one day  was already broken a couple of weeks go, and that’s  just the beginning. A huge structure was prepared to receive the Olympic delegations, reporters and visitors, involving hundreds of people. Nick Cole, Head of Olympic and Paralympic Planning at BAA, spoke about the challenges behind such an event: “The Olympic and Paralympic Games are a marathon, not a sprint, for Heathrow.  The airport has some major challenges ahead, including unprecedented numbers of departing Olympics passengers and bags on 13 August and Paralympic arrivals and departures in August and September.”

The airport’s PR and marketing teams decided to make use of infographics, ranging from the odd items Olympians travel with (from a gymnast with ribbons and hoops to a canoeist with a canoe), to how to travel like an athlete pre – post flight.

According to Julia Gillam, Head of PR for Heathrow:

“Infographics have been created to portray the unique challenges and opportunities that arise as Host Airport for the Olympics. Serving as the first and last impression of London 2012, Heathrow has many exciting insights to share and what better way to generate excitement that an infographic?”

And here are some of the graphics:

(image: Heathrow Airport)

(image: Heathrow Airport)

(image: Heathrow Airport)

(image: Heathrow Airport)

(image: Heathrow Airport)

(image: Heathrow Airport)

(image: Heathrow Airport)

Now, wouldn’t be great to have another infographic series with the all the numbers and facts after the Games? We know our Brazilian friends are quite interested in that, as the country prepares for Rio 2016.

Links: Heathrow Airport website