tourism


Teamwork needed for GB tourism


kurt janson is policy director of Tourism Alliance


London’s ‘performance’ praised


London’s Olympic tour- ism performance has been labelled “outstanding” by the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA). The organisation under-


W


ith the London 2012 Olympics now upon us, there is significant inter- est in our ability to host


visitors from around the world and stage a memorable major international event. Early subjects for scrutiny have been the


immigration queues at Heathrow and the less than impressive performance of G4S in providing security. Te concern being that any poor performance will be picked up by the estimated 20,000 international journal- ists attending the Games, thus adversely impacting upon the expected £2bn tour- ism legacy by dissuading people to visit the UK in future. Tis prospect is particularly worrying when the government has spent £27m on the “Britain is Great” campaign. While all is being done to maximise the


benefits to the UK of hosting the Games within some government departments, there is a lack of joined-up thinking across Whitehall. For example, if you are one of the burgeoning middle-class watching the Games in China (there are more than 1 mil- lion millionaires in China now and there will be 2.5 million by 2020) and think to yourself, “that looks like a country I’d like to visit”, you face a number of problems. First, the UK visa process continues to


think all Chinese are economic refugees and treats you are such – something rather galling considering the relative economic performance of the two countries. Ten you have to pay more for a visa


for the UK than you would pay for one to visit all the other countries in Europe com- bined. You then go to your travel agent and he tells you that the UK government has decided to charge your family £324 on top of the £296 you’ve just paid for visas. At this stage, the agent also explains that


the other reason that the package you are looking at costs much more than the one to France is that the UK also wants to charge you 20 per cent VAT on your stay, rather than the reduced rates on tourism services in the other European countries. It is at this stage when you go home and


tell the family that the Eiffel Tower looks beautiful this time of year...


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lined six areas in which the capital is outperforming some of the Games’ previous host cities and delivering benefits for potential visitors. According to ETOA, more


than 60,000 foreign tour- ists are expected to stay in London hotels per night during the Games – up from 27,000 in Beijing and around 25,000 in Sydney. London 2012 organisers are welcoming more


ETOA has highlighted the “good news” for potential visitors to London


members of the Olympic Family than previ- ous Games, with half of the expected foreign visitors expected to come from this group. Meanwhile, accommodation remains avail- able across London – offering rates at or below


last year’s prices – and ETOA believes the city has space for yet more visitors. ETOA executive director Tom Jenkins said:


“It is important to emphasise how well London is doing compared with other Games, and what good news there is for potential visitors.” Read more: http://lei.sr?a=H7E2j


European funding boost for Burren tourism initiative


The European Commission has approved funding towards a €2.2m (£1.7m) project to further integrate tourism and the natural heri- tage of the Burren on Ireland’s west coast. Clare County Council is leading the pro- gramme, which is one of more than 200 to


receive support through LIFE+ – the European Union’s environment funding programme. Te Burren project will help ensure local


tourism development complements the con- servation of biodiversity among others. Read more: http://lei.sr?a=f7P2H


UK sector ‘ready’ for London 2012 Games


Te UK industry is “ready” to ensure London 2012 is the “best ever” Games for both domestic and overseas visi- tors, according to Tourism Alliance chair Michael Hirst. Hirst made the comments


ahead of the first Olympic event at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on 25 July – the wom- en’s football match between Team GB and New Zealand. It is thought the sector


could benefit by around £2bn as a result of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with over- seas visitor numbers already showing a 5 per cent rise. London 2012 also gives the UK an important


opportunity to market itself as a destination to tourists from emerging markets such as China, Brazil, Russia and India.


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital London 2012 is a key opportunity to market itself to emerging markets


• For more on UK tourism’s prospects from the London 2012 Games, see left for Tourism Alliance policy director Kurt Janson’s column. Read more: http://lei.sr?a=i4w2t


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2012


image: jorisvo/shutterstock.com


image: rob wilson/shutterstock.com


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