Workshop in UK Zeroed in on Tourism Benefits of the 2012 Olympic Games

The Tourism Society organized a Workshop meeting of 50 delegates to address the biggest potential advantage that UK tourism will ever get: the 2012 Olympic Games. The Workshop was sponsored by VisitBritain and hosted by Visit London, at their offices on November 24.

VisitBritain have commissioned Ken Robinson, independent Tourism Adviser and Chair of the Tourism Society´s Think Tank, to prepare a draft strategy for optimizing the tourism benefits of the Olympic Games, which will be issued for consultation in the spring of 2006.

Ken has consulted with different organizations and with individuals (through the Tourism Society and TMI) in preparing the draft.

The Workshop was called to discuss some of the key issues, including -Organization and Communication, Benefiting all of the UK, Skills, Service, Quality and Value, Branding, Marketing and Business Tourism.

The meeting focused specifically on the need for clarity, realism and leadership, as the Olympic Games usually lead to unrealistic expectations of the immediate tourism benefits.

However, the potential tourism gain from increased image and profile is potentially massive and is the main economic benefit of staging the Games. The comments made by the representatives of national organizations and individuals present are being taken into account in the final draft of the policy.