UKinbound blast ‘ignorant’ Chirac
UKinbound chief executive Stephen Dowd has waded into the diplomatic row with France by condemning criticisms of British food as “ignorant and outrageous”.
But he said the comments may rebound on French president Jacques Chirac as the countries go head to head in the battle to host the 2012 Olympics.
“Let’s hope he comes up with another faux pas before tomorrow’s announcement,” Dowd told TravelMole. “They do have a tendency to shoot themselves in the foot.”
Dowd, echoing earlier comments by VisitBritain, stressed British food has come on in “leaps and bounds” with the country now regarded as having fine cuisine.
“The comments are ignorant and outrageous and are patently not true,” he said. “We have great chefs and superb Michelin-star restaurants. There is a great deal of interest from visitors in our food.”
Turning to the Olympics, Dowd said a successful outcome will see between 5% and 10% additional tourists head to Britain in the two years prior to the Games and 10% to 15% more visitors in the four years after.
“There will clearly be a legacy to hosting the Olympics,” he said.
Report by Steve Jones
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