Coventry & Warwickshire going for gold with Olympic visitors
THE leading authority on ensuring UK tourism makes the most out of London 2012 is to meet business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire to make sure the area is ready to exploit the opportunities offered by the Olympic Games.
Chris Foy, Visit Britain’s head of 2012 Games Unit, will be speaking at a Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce at the Heart of England Conference Centre on June 11.
The Chamber’s Tourism, Leisure and Conference (TLC) Group is staging the event in conjunction with the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership for the 2012 Games.
Tom Clift, CW2012 partnership manager, will also be speaking at the event.
Dianne Williams, director of operations at the chamber and head of the TLC Group, said London 2012 would provide a huge economic boost for tourism in the region but businesses needed to plan ahead in order to make the most out of these opportunities.
“Businesses cannot leave it to chance. Tourists from across the world will be attending the Games but they won’t just turn up on our doorstep – we have to actively attract them to Coventry and Warwickshire,” she said.
“We know what we have to offer in this region and we need to make sure we are geared up to spread that message and then to make sure we are ready for the extra visitors.
“To have Chris Foy attending is a major coup and will give businesses a great insight into the national plan and how they can tap into that.”
With the Games just over two years away, she said serious preparations should now be taking place so that Coventry and Warwickshire was ready.
“As a partner, we are working very closely with the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership for the 2012 Games and have made significant strides.
“What is vital now is that as many businesses as possible attend events such as this to make sure they are equipped for the biggest influx of visitors to the UK for many, many years,” she said.
Millions of people are expected to visit the UK before, during and after London 2012 and the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership for the 2012 Games is keen for the region’s businesses to produce a strategy which will attract as many of these visitors to the area as possible.
Tom Clift, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership manager for the 2012 Games, said: “Our region’s central location means we will only be a short journey away from the action in 2012.
“And with so many visitor attractions as well as culture and history in the area, the tourism, hotel and leisure industries here are as well placed as any outside of London to take advantage of the benefits and opportunities the 2012 Games will undoubtedly bring.”
