28 July 2008

VisitBritain send six staff to Beijing

VisitBritain has revealed that a delegation will travel to the Beijing Olympics to try to drum up business for UK national and regional sporting facilities ahead of the London Olympics in 2012, at a cost of Ã&#pound;50,000.

Fronted by VisitBritain chief executive Tom Wright, delegation will promote venues around the UK as pre-Games training camps.

The six-strong team from VisitBritatin will spend time in Beijing and Macau to gain an understanding of the economic benefit of training camps, as well as the requirements of athletes.

It will also launch a Pre-Games Training Camp prospectus and will showcase Britainââ¬â¢s sporting venues and facilities to senior members of National Olympic Committees and the international federations of the 26 sports participating in the 2012 Games.

ââ¬ÅâœBeing in Beijing this summer marks the first stage of our strategy to spread the economic benefits of the Olympics throughout the UK and raise the profile and awareness of Britain as a destination,ââ¬~ said Wright.

Working in partnership with Visit London, VisitBritain aims to echo the success of Sydney and Barcelona, which used their Games to stimulate visitor growth, and ensure that the legacy of hosting the Games extends from London to the whole of the UK.

Research commissioned by Oxford Economic Forecasting suggests that hosting the Games in 2012 could boost the UK visitor economy by just over Ã&#pound;2bn, of which almost Ã&#pound;1.5bn would be for London alone.

According to a recent online survey by VisitBritain of consumers in 35 countries, tourism gains are expected to come largely from emerging markets, particularly China, India, Malaysia, Mexico and South Korea, inspired by increased media exposure and publicity associated with the Games.

By Linsey McNeill

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• &#pound;50,000
  
  

  Is this kind of expense really necessary ! Considering the all types comms available this is pure waste of good resources.

  By Dipak Shah, Tuesday, July 29, 2008
• Clearly not for profit...or logic.
  
  

  VisitBritain has revealed that a delegation will travel to the Beijing Olympics to try to drum up business for UK national and regional sporting facilities ahead of the London Olympics in 2012, at a cost of &#pound;50,000. Fronted by VisitBritain chief executive Tom Wright, delegation will promote venues around the UK as pre-Games training camps. There must be a loose wire somewhere around here...what possibly benefit can result from a delegation visiting the Olympics in the middle of China?! The last distraction honed athletes and their wound up training masters need is a 'suit' or 'suits'extolling the virtues of Birmingham, Cleethorpes or Skegness, in 2012! Don't get me wrong but the name of the quango is VisitBritian not 'Visit Beijingonajolly'! Visit Britian should be going after the massive inbound markets presented by countries that have a population with disposable incomes not a posse of not for profit athletes and trainers who have little or no say in what will happen in 2009 let alone 2012. Hopefully they won't be doing too much talking as the air pollution levels are still at danger level in downtown Beijing! So half the delegation will probably call in sick after day two! I say this as at one time I attended the Leipzig Messe (Trade Fair) and the British press pack would all go down with sore throats after two days due to the nearby SWEDT chemical works pumping sulphur into the atmosphere.. so you can also treble the budget - just like the 2012 Olympics...a rethink methinks.

  By JULIAN BRAY MCIPR, Tuesday, July 29, 2008