The Madrid 2020 Olympic bid, the city's third consecutive attempt to host an Olympic Games, "has faced opposition from those that think the country's current economic crisis is not the best scenario for hosting the Games," according to Matilla & Jiménez of AS. Because of this, candidacy members are "managing figures that will put an end to the doubts." Spanish Olympic Committee (COE) President Alejandro Blanco said, "It is not risky to think that 300,000 employment opportunities will be generated." According to the Madrid 2020 bid's studies, the Games would have a €3.9B ($5.1B) impact on Spain's GDP "and would increase welfare" by €500M ($655M). The 1992 Barcelona Games "exemplified this by creating 296,000 jobs." Recent data from the Economy Barometer "give Madrid 2020 confidence: the Olympic bid has already created 75,000 jobs and the tourism rate has increased 3.8% above the national average." Counting the jobs already created, and "adding the positions the Games are expected to generate, there would be 168,893 new full-time jobs." In '20, Madrid would receive from 1.5-2 million more tourists (AS, 7/17).
