New group to maximise benefits of 2012 Olympics for hospitality industry

A joint working party has been set up by some of the UK's biggest tourism and accommodation agencies to encourage visits to Britain during and after the 2012 Olympics and help ensure that hospitality businesses get the most from the Games.

National tourism agency VisitBritain, Visit London, the European Tour Operators Association and UK Inbound have joined forces to promote the message that London and Britain have a large supply of accommodation across all price ranges and a strong cultural offer.

VisitBritain and Visit London have already set up the Fair Pricing and Practice Charter to encourage competitive pricing during the Games and the two groups will also work with the other agencies to promote the industry's offerings as much as possible.

VisitBritain’s chief executive, Sandie Dawe, said: “Our aim is to maximise the tourism benefits of the Games. Together we will show that the whole country will be welcoming visitors throughout 2012and we welcome the opportunity to work with Visit London, ETOA, UK Inbound and other partners to look at how we can maximise the benefits to our industry."

Visit London’s director of communications, Ken Kelling, added: “London has so much to offer sports fans and non-sports fans alike and visitors are well used to travelling to and from the city for business or pleasure. We are expecting the atmosphere to be amazing during 2012 and no-one will want to miss out. Now’s the right time to be getting the message out as the travel trade starts to think about 'brochuring' for the next few years.”