One of the German T-class commodores touched on this when I talked with him during the german championship this year.

Germany is one of the few countries to have a big Tornado class. They also have 3 -4 teams fighting for an olympic berth.

Sailors running an olympic campaign dont have time to build a class. That is left to other 'regular' members of the class.
In Germany the Tornado class is generally considered to be a bit 'aloof' by the other classes, a kind of 'the Tornado is not for every sailor' attitude. I'm not saying this is caused by the olympic status, but it might be one of the reasons. The olympic candidates also participate in smaller events, which is inspiring and valuable for weekend warriors. But this is not very motivating for teams who wants to win
This really hurts when the class tries to recruit new Tornado sailors.. There was about 30 participants in the International German Championship this year.

The Commodore was not entirely sure if the olympic status was for the better or worse, today..

Regarding costs.. The Tornado was originally meant to be 'the backyard builders way to the olympics'. The boat is after all designed for plywood home building.
Some arms races later we have one manufacturer left, and they dont make their money on the Tornado. Marstrøm builds beautiful and lasting boats, but earns their money on spars and other products.
This means that there is no manufacturer present at trade shows or supporting the class.

I dont think the Tornado is an expensive boat to buy or race at club level. But the class needs to focus a bit more on all the non-olympic sailors. After all, the olympic classes is supposed to be large classes active worldwide (I know, large, like the 49'er was before the olympic selection [irony]).