Tourism chiefs debate Olympic opportunities

[Fiona]

A workshop meeting of 50 top tourism officials was held last week to discuss ways in which the industry can maximise the opportunities the London 2012 Olympics offers UK tourism.

The meeting was called by Ken Robinson, independent tourism adviser and chair of the Tourism Society’s Think Tank, who has been commissioned by VisitBritain to prepare a draft strategy for optimising the tourism benefits of the Olympic Games.

“The workshop was called to discuss some of the key issues, including organisation and communication, benefiting all of the UK, skills, service, quality and value, branding and marketing, and business tourism,” said Robinson.

“The comments made by the representatives of national organisations and individuals present are being taken into account in the final draft of the policy.”

The workshop, held on 24 November at Visit London’s offices in the capital, included industry leaders such as Tom Wright, chief executive of VisitBritain; David Hornby, commercial director of Visit London; Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, Huw Jarvis of the South West Regional Development Agency and Michael Hirst of the Business Tourism Partnership.

“The meeting particularly considered the need for clarity, realism and leadership, as the Games usually lead to unrealistic expectations of the immediate tourism benefits,” said Robinson, “but the potential tourism gain from increased image and profile is potentially massive and is the main economic benefit of staging the Games.”

Robinson’s draft strategy will be issued for consultation in the spring of 2006.

leisureopportunities.co.uk