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London 2012 Olympics - 1 year to go

27 July 2011 marked one year to go until the London 2012 Olympic Games and we have been busy highlighting how tourism can contribute to the economic legacy of the Games and to inspire people to visit Britain and join in the celebrations over the year ahead.

In Russia we held a large-scale event at Moscow’s largest outdoor festival Picnic Afisha, headlined by the Kaiser Chiefs in conjunction with the British Council and the British Embassy in Moscow. We ran an Olympic Britain Pavilion totally dedicated to sport, inviting visitors to participate in various sports tournaments such as ping-pong, arm-wrestling and table football. Visitors were also able to view a special Paralympic photo exhibition provided by the Russian Paralympic Association and over 300 people took part in a Paralympic quiz.

We joined forces with the United States Olympic Committee to launch ‘Team USA: Britain Bound’ at a one year to go party at the New York City’s Lincoln Center.

In India we held a joint event with the British High Commission and Briitsh Council where the Omega countdown clock was unveiled at the British High Commissioner' residence.

In the UAE we hosted a reception at the British Embassy in Dubai. The Consul General and Keith Beecham spoke and an Arabic version of our TV ad was shown.

Over in China, we helped facilitate interviews and media visits for China Central TV, the 2012 Games broadcaster, who showed a two-hour feature programme about the one year count down which was repeated 2-3 times on CCTV News Channel and CCTV-5 today.

In Canada, we hosted an event with the FCO in Toronto. Guests included the Ontario Minister of Health Promotion and Sport, CTV’s Olympic broadcast team, members of the COC, Canadian para-athletes, tour operators, trade and news media. The new Britain – You’re Invited TV ads, the Olympic images video, and b-roll were shown on large screens around the house and gardens.

Meanwhile just across the channel in France, we held an event in partnership with the French national organising committee (NOC), EventTeam – the official tour operator for the French NOC and the British Embassy. This event included a presentation which covered an introduction to the French involved in the 2012 Games, a film on French success stories in previous Games, another of French athletes inviting French people to go to London to support Team France. Other discussions included how France Television will be covering the Games, Club France Project – the French Sport Embassy in London during Games-time which will be used as a media centre for French media and where official broadcaster, France Televisions, will be based.

highlights of our 2012 Games progress

Here are some of the highlights of our 2012 Games progress so far are:

Development of the Tourism2012Games.org resource and monthly newsletter communications since May 2010 – click here to sign up.

Production of a series of rights-free 2012 Games-related imagery and b-roll footage.

Event for the official London 2012 Authorised Ticket Resellers in June 2011 to introduce them to pan-Britain product.

Development of a dedicated Britain You’re Invited module in the BritAgent e-learning programme.

Founding of a partnership with Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung and the introduction of a “Best of Britain” app on their devices.

Establishment of the 2012 Working Group that brings key industry representatives together to discuss and resolve issues around displacement.

Roll out of a London 2012 Public Diplomacy toolkit to our overseas network.

The Global Handover Programme (from Beijing 2008 to London 2012).

The Pre-Games Training Camp information website, developed on behalf of LOCOG.

July 2011 marked one year to go until the London 2012 Olympic Games and we highlighted how tourism can contribute to the economic legacy of the Games and to inspire people to visit Britain.

We are working closely with the teams at LOCOG to identify how we can maximise the benefits of the Cultural Olympiad and the Torch Relay and leverage all media opportunities.

xford Economics to carry out in-depth research into the likely tourism

Findings from other Games

The Athens 2004 Games contributed to a 10% increase in inbound visitors in 2005

3.9 billion people watched the Athens Games on TV in 200 countries

The Sydney Games contributed to a 15% increase in inbound visitors in September 2000 versus September 1999

The State of Georgia economy increased by $5.1 billion as a result of the Atlanta 1996 Games

In the decade following the Barcelona 1992 Games, the number of international visitors doubled

In 2007, we commissioned jointly with Visit London, Oxford Economics to carry out in-depth research into the likely tourism impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Some of the findings are summarised below and the full report can be downloaded.

The research predicted that gross visitor spend in Britain generated by the London 2012 Games will be £2.34 billion for the ten year period 2007 to 2017, of which £1.85 billion will be spent in London (based on a central-case scenario).

In terms of relative importance, the pre-Games period is responsible for 15% of the estimated total tourism benefits for the UK as a whole; the Games themselves account for 31%, and the remaining 54% is to be generated after the Games (i.e., as a legacy effect). The corresponding shares for London are 17%, 35% and 48% respectively.

For the post-Games period (2013-17), a legacy effect worth £1.27bn is forecast for the UK and £0.88bn for London. These gains are generated largely by higher numbers of visitors from emerging markets for UK tourism (primarily from China, India and Russia), who decide to visit the country/city as a consequence of the media exposure and publicity associated with the Games.

Britain is in a decade of exceptional opportunity for tourism marketing

Britain is in a decade of exceptional opportunity for tourism marketing. This started with The Royal Wedding and will continue with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

The Great Britain You’re Invited marketing programme is our four year marketing programme that aims to take full advantage of this exceptional period of celebration and its targets are underpinned by our 3 key objectives for the 2012 Games.

We have a dedicated 2012 Games Unit which works with government departments and the official tourism bodies fro London, England, Scotland and Wales to add value and give support to their activities. Specifically, the team aims to:

• Identify opportunities
• Coordinate activities
• Manage relationships

Our year-by-year plan is to:
2010 - Galvanise Britain
2011 - Invite the world to Britain
2012 - Welcome the world to Britain
2013 onwards - Delivering the legacy

aim to build the aspiration to travel to Britain

Through our four-year marketing programme we aim to build the aspiration to travel to Britain, and the number of people visiting the UK - there are number of ways that you can get involved, regardless of you business size or budget.

As the national tourism agency our commitment to you is to understand your business needs and provide you with sound market advice, support and opportunities that will help your business flourish internationally and we will work with you to ensure that you maximise your international marketing budget.

We offer a virtual reach around the world as well as a programme of exhibitions and missions in key markets. Our in-market teams understand what motivates travel from each individual market and what tourism experiences and products are in demand. Take a look at our comprehensive market profiles to help you decide which markets are best for you. Equally they have an excellent understanding of the tourism industry in their countries and maintain strong links with their local travel trade and media contacts.

So whether you are looking to extend you reach through:

Digital and social media, such as on visitbritain.tv or through Twitter, our Facebook page, Love UK or Facebook Places

Press and PR by sending us your newsworthy stories or hosting our journalists and broadcast crews

Leisure, and in some markets, such as the US, the business travel trade via our programme of sales missions, workshops and exhibitions or promotion to our qualified Britagents

Print advertising in targeted media/Britain supplements

Retailing your product through the VisitBritain shop

Or as a major campaign partner

How we market Britain

Britain is always a stimulating and exciting place to be – a place where castles host music festivals, museums hold fashion shows, power stations are converted into art galleries and country houses are transformed into spa hotels. Britain is where you’ll find world-renowned historic landmarks right next to modern art galleries and restaurants. And there has never been a better time visit.

Britain is celebrating – kick-started by the Royal Wedding at Westminster Abbey and next summer London hosts the 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games. The Olympic Torch will run through the whole country and Britain will stage a major culturefest as well as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

We see these events a once in a lifetime opportunity to enhance our appeal to international visitors, to showcase all that is great about Britain. That’s why we are increasing the amount we invest directly into marketing, focusing on 21 priority markets - those which offer the best immediate return and best future prospects for Britain – working in partnership with thousands of business across Britain.

We use a range of traditional and innovative marketing approaches and see digital and social media, press and PR activity and working with travel trade intermediaries as key. Through our global network, we look after trade and press contacts, arrange and facilitate sales missions and trade events as well as work with partners on-territory.

Find out how you can get involved, read our advice section or contact our sister organisations to promote your product domestically.