Tourism chiefs welcome football draw

THE Olympic football draw proved kind to Manchester’s tourism chefs, with teams from key target markets all being drawn to play in the city.

Visit Manchester said that the teams drawn to play their games at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium – UAE, Brazil, USA and Spain – all feature heavily in the city’s tourism plan.

Visit Manchester said Etihad Airways’ sponsorship deal with Manchester City Football Club combined with increased services to Manchester by both Etihad and Emirates have driven up the number of Emiratis visiting the city in recent years.

Marketing Manchester also plans to attend the World Route Development Forum in Abu Dhabi later this year in a bid to strengthen the relationship between the two cities.

Brazil is also a strong emerging market for Manchester and also shares a significant football link. The city has had a presence at the Soccerex global convention for the past few years, and the event moves from Rio de Janerio to Manchester from 2014.

The USA and Spain, meanwhile,  are more traditional markets for Manchester and whilst football (and the opening of the National Football Museum in July) will be a significant draw for Spanish visitors, numbers from the US are expected to be boosted by the launch of United Airlines’ first Washington-Manchester route this month.

Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, said: “We are thrilled with the fixtures for the Olympic football matches that will be played here in Manchester over the summer.

“As we often say, football is written in the city’s DNA, however it is also a very important driver of tourism.

“These are all priority markets for the work that we do as an organisation and the Olympic football fixtures will now feed in to how we execute our summer campaign.”