12 September 2011
In response to Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State’s briefing to Olympic correspondents today, James Berresford VisitEngland’s CEO commented:
“The announcement today by Jeremy Hunt of £3 million from the Olympic budget to boost domestic tourism is extremely welcome. We are delighted to be working alongside Government to ensure the full potential of the Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee, the Cultural Olympiad and all the events of 2012 are realised by the tourism sector across the country through the delivery of a joint marketing campaign with industry.
Our research shows that people have been taking more holidays at home and enjoying the great experiences on offer. 85% of respondents to our satisfaction survey described the destination they visited as excellent or good and 86% would recommend it to others. It is essential to use 2012 to reinforce this trend and strengthen the future of tourism, thereby supporting the economy and employment.
The Torch Relay and Olympic and Paralympic events provide a fantastic opportunity. The funding announced today will support VisitEngland’s campaign to showcase England to our home audience highlighting our world-renowned history and heritage; pristine national parks, market and coastal towns and vibrant metropolitan cities. The campaign seeks to generate an additional 5.3m short break nights in England and an incremental spend of £480 million by 2015.
In addition, VisitEngland is also working to secure funding from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund on behalf of Destinations across the country. This aims to secure investment at the local level to enable local areas to undertake activities specific to their tourism products and ambitions for the next three years. If successful with this application, the total investment by Government, supported by further private sector investment will secure economic benefits through tourism and realise the potential of the Olympic legacy.”
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For more information contact:
Jodie Hodge, Digital Communications Executive, Tel: 020 7578 1457, Email: jodie.hodge@visitengland.org Website www.visitengland.org
About VisitEngland
• VisitEngland is the strategic leadership body representing the public and private sector stakeholders of English Tourism. It works in partnership creating national tourism strategy, optimising marketing investment, and developing the visitor experience across England
• VisitEngland uses its Enjoy England consumer brand in the domestic market and markets England under the VisitEngland brand in international markets
• For corporate information see www.visitengland.org , for consumer information see www.enjoyengland.com