Tourism 2012: An Olympic Tourism Strategy Jo Leslie 2012 Strategy & Communications

Britain’s main tourism challenges Ever more competition Time-poor audiences Global quest for escapism, experiences & environment Providing value for money Breaking new markets Reaching younger customers Injecting passion and excitement into our brand

The “Olympic Games Advantage” Value of the Olympic Games brand Truly international focus and experience Unique global and national sponsor network High level catchment of business contacts Unsurpassed global exposure Unique public excitement and interest source: New Initiatives in Promoting Business & Tourism Development – David Faulks, John Morse & Terry Goss

Lessons from previous Games Barcelona 1992 – changed the face of the city Atlanta 1996 – doubled convention business Sydney 2000 – advanced ‘Brand Australia’ by 10 years Athens 2004 – provided incredible media reach Germany 2006 – improved the visitor product

Much of this will be “substitute” tourism What might this look like? Source: VisitBritain, April 2006(NB BRICS = emerging markets)

Opportunities for Britain’s visitor economy To grow London & UK’s visitor economies faster than would otherwise be possible To spread the economic benefits throughout the UK To improve perceptions of Britain To set new standards for how tourism can be integrated into major international events To maximise the long term legacy

Tourism 2012 opportunities: Image Align as closely as possible with the Olympics brand values to reinvigorate Britain’s image & appeal to tomorrow’s travellers Bolster the contemporary aspects of the Britain brand by injecting more passion and vibrancy Reduce our dependency on Western Europe & mature markets by appealing to new markets

Tourism 2012 opportunities: Cultural Tourism Influence and promote the content of the four-year ‘Cultural Olympiad’ Extend Liverpool ’08 into Britain-wide campaign, involving every nation and region Ensure festivals, Torch Relay etc touch all our key markets Start delivering visitors now – no need to wait till 2012…

Lever our 2012 Bid win to attract more sporting & international events, conferences & conventions Focus on industry sectors with a natural allegiance to Olympics, especially sports Package existing events together to create themes/campaigns/major events that are greater than the sum of the parts Work with partners throughout Britain to attract international & domestic event visitors Tourism 2012 opportunities: Sports & Events

Use Olympics as catalyst for addressing the variable quality of UK tourism product Get majority of guest accommodation quality assured & engage attractions behind single agenda Accelerate improvements in welcome, quality & skills Lever the 2012 Paralympic Games to address gaps in the National Accessibility Scheme Tourism 2012 opportunities: Tourism product

The Tourism 2012 Strategy Welcome > Legacy consultation: 200 responses Ministerial meeting: 23 January Strategy launch: late spring