Home > News Archive > London Olympics Focus Of £100m Tourism Push

Ministers said that 2012 will be used to attract a further one million tourists to the UK, with tourism agency VisitBritain bolstered by a £40 million grant and £60 million of private sector cash.

Sports minister Hugh Robertson said that Greenwich Park and other Olympic venues will bolster London's reputation as a tourism destination, with many people expected to look for London apartments ahead of the sporting extravaganza.

Gordon Innes, CEO of official promotional agency London & Partners, underlined how important it was for London to use the Olympics to show the city off.

He added: 'It is crucial that we promote everything the city has to offer throughout 2012 to ensure that the tourism industry can feel the benefits of hosting a major global event.

'With this in mind, we are about to launch our Limited Edition London campaign that will promote unique, one-off events taking place in the capital from now until the start of the Games.'

Meanwhile £3 million of funding was also announced in a bid to attract Britons to take holidays in their own country. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the campaign would be funded by the projected underspend on Olympic venues.

Innes added: 'With around nine months until the start of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it is more important than ever that we pro-actively attract both domestic and international visitors to the capital.'

Hunt said: 'The intention is to have a tourism impact that is not specifically solely about next year, but that next year is a moment for the British tourist industry that becomes a springboard to expand.'

'We will get £1bn of free PR and publicity for the UK as a destination. We need to use that to harness interest in the UK and convert that into holidays booked.'