London Olympic Tourism Strategy Plans 2012

The UK’s national tourism agency, Visit Britain and London’s tourism board, VisitLondon Wednesday revealed their Olympics tourism strategy, 1400 days ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

London and Britain have already been placed firmly under the global sporting spotlight following the recent acceptance of the Olympic flag from Beijing.

The nation will be promoted by VisitBritain’s international network of offices as the place for watching and participating in sporting events as well as a unique destination which combines a natural ambience of history, culture and entertainment.

VisitBritain CEO, Tom Wright says: “Britain is a sporting nation: our reputation has been earned in part by the popularity of our world-renowned events, as well as experiences, accommodation and attractions at destinations in every nation and region. Britain’s Olympic Games in 2012 – and the four years leading to it – are a wonderful opportunity for us to present the character and assets of our destinations and experiences to the world.”

According to recent VisitBritain research, more than one fifth (22per cent) of potential visitors strongly agree that they would be more likely to visit Britain over the next few years because London will host the 2012 Olympics.

Tom Wright continues: “One in ten visits from overseas – 4.7 million and 14 per cent of the total – involve watching a sporting event or taking part in sporting activities. Australia plays an extremely significant part in this, with 25 per cent of the 957,000 annual visitors to the UK from Australia watching or participating in sport during their stay.”