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LONDON LEISURE TOURISM TO SUFFER DURING THE OLYMPICS

The London Olympic Games may do wonders for the city’s reputation and provide a great advertisement for the English capital, yet leisure tourism may suffer as a result.

When it was announced that London would be the scene for the next Olympic Games in 2012, huge numbers of people were rejoicing. Amongst these celebrators were also hotel managers, theatre owners and restaurateurs.

However, it is now suggested that leisure tourism will take a dip in London next year during July and August in particular, i.e. during the Games. The blame has been attributed to the tourists and the businesses themselves. The tourists who will flood London next summer are not the typical type of visitors, who Londoners long for. They will arrive with a specific purpose: to sit and watch a variety of sporting events without necessarily spending wads of cash.

The truth is that due to the distraction of the games they are unlikely to go to the theatre, spend a fortune on eating out and their numbers in London hotels mean that there is little room for others.

This leads to the next problem: the hotels are pricing themselves out of business for this particular period and tourists, who intend to fulfill the classic London tourist program will be put off by the Olympic masses. These elements have led to the widespread belief that leisure tourism in London will suffer a drop of 95% next year, mostly due to the summer months. Some operators have experienced shortfalls of up to 60% in bookings for the summer months next year. It is already clear that the Olympics may actually stop many spendthrift tourists from coming to London, quite the opposite to the situation first imagined.

LATEST NEWS FROM WORKD TRAVEL MARKET

World Travel Market 2011, the leading global event for the travel industry, is set to be the catalyst for even more travel industry business deals then ever before, reveals a poll of Meridian Club members - WTM's business club for senior travel industry buyers.

World Travel Market 2010 led to a massive Ł1,425 million travel industry deals, with almost 90% (89%) of Meridian Club members polled stating they expect to conduct a greater amount of business (in monetary value) at WTM 2011 than they did at WTM 2010.

More than two thirds (70%) expect to conduct at least 10% more business, with;
- Almost half (48%) planning to conduct between 10% - 25% more business,
- 12% predict WTM will lead to them sealing deals worth between 26% - 40% more than WTM 2010
- While 3% expect to conduct at least 75% more business in 2011 than in 2010.

Ambitious growth plans and strong company performance are the key reasons behind the increase in business, according to two thirds of the Meridian Club members polled. Emerging markets were also identified as key reasons for conducting more business during the four days of WTM.

World Travel Market Exhibition Director Simon Press said: "World Travel Market's focus is to facilitating business between exhibitors and the industry's senior buyers in the WTM Meridian Club.
"I am delighted Meridian Club members are telling us they expect to conduct a greater amount of business than ever before. Each year the amount of business WTM generates increases; 2010's Ł1,425 million figure was an impressive 25% increase on 2009's Ł1,139 million." To further help facilitate business between exhibitors and buyers the Speed Networking session will now take place as a one hour-long session before the exhibition opens on Monday 7 November at 9am - 10am in Platinum Suite 3 and 4.
Furthermore, the 'My WTM Connections' online tool is another great service which will enable business to be done effectively and efficiently by allowing buyers to connect with exhibitors and other participants before, during and after the event.

Last year 34,360 participants utilised this tool and almost 14,200 messages were sent out enabling participants to make the most of their time at WTM.

UK MOVES UP WORLD RANKINGS AHEAD OF CRITICAL YEAR OF TOURISM

The United Kingdom’s image overseas has improved significantly over the last year, driven by greater perceptions of British culture, its people and its appeal as a tourist destination. The findings have been published in the latest Anholt-GFK Roper Nation Brands Index (NBI).

Notable improvements across a number of key indicators means that the UK now overtakes France on the overall rankings to become the third most admired country globally, and positioning itself as one of the strongest and most well-rounded nations in the world. The results reveal that the UK – now one place higher than it was in 2010 - is also one of the few countries to feature in the top six slots within each of the six brand measurements that the NBI analyses annually.

Britain’s enhanced standing on the world stage has been buoyed by respondents’ views on it as a tourist destination, particularly because of the appeal of its rich historic landmarks and vibrant city life. It has also improved its aspirational appeal for overseas markets with visitors more likely to make the journey to the UK if money was no object.

Along with these gains, the UK has also enjoyed success for the third consecutive year in being seen as an interesting and exciting place for contemporary culture, jumping up two spots to fourth place with music, films, art, literature and sports all areas strongly associated with the British.

Welcoming the latest findings, Chief Executive of VisitBritain Sandie Dawe said: “This year’s NBI report provides yet another insightful score-card for the UK. It shows that the overwhelming perception of Britain by overseas visitors is positive and that our image is improving significantly in many of the countries in which we operate around the world.

Despite progress being seen in the perceived welcome by Brits (ranked 12th, up one slot from 2010), questions still remain on how warm that welcome is and what can be done to improve the UK’s overall friendliness. Brits themselves held their own country in high esteem, positioning itself as number one across all but one of the indices.

London & Partners was formed earlier this year to replace Visit London, Think London and Study London.

London & Partners, the single agency with a remit to attract tourism, inward investment and international students to the UK capital was launched on April 1st ( no joke! )by Mayor Boris Johnson. The new promotional agency takes over the work carried out to date by Visit London, Think London and Study London.

London currently welcomes almost 25 million visitors, creates over 6,100 jobs through inward investment and attracts 105,000 international students every year. London & Partners aims to pool the extensive knowledge and expertise from the previous agencies under one roof and deliver a single strategy for the promotion of London both domestically and abroad.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "London is an extraordinary place of opportunity and without doubt the best big city to visit, study and invest in. We have some of the world’s greatest cultural attractions from our theatres to museums, some of the finest universities and colleges, and we offer unrivalled choice for those seeking to invest.

London is also a city which is undergoing transformation as we deliver new transport links and vastly improved public spaces. Together these initiatives are improving the city’s quality of life and making it a better place to live, work and visit. "With so many landmark events on the horizon, from the Olympic and Paralympic Games, to the Royal Wedding and Diamond Jubilee, this is a really exciting time for us to promote London with a single voice. We have an incredible story to tell and by harnessing our resources under one roof I believe we can become an even stronger magnet for tourists, students and investors in the coming decades."

This year's best Garden Party at the Goring Hotel!

The Middleton's still keep a magic hand over the Goring Hotel by creating the Middlestons favourite Caribbean bar in its garden.
A replica of the "greatest bar in the world", the Basil's Bar on the private island of Mustique has been created with with special composed driftwood, three fishing boats and 84 tons of sand added to the atmosphere.
Kate and Prince William are said to taken a dozens trips to the island, which is popular with celebrities because the paparazzi are banned.
Basil Charles, 64, known as "the king of Mustique" has been in London and is training the hotel's staff to make his signature cocktails. If you want the recipe of the famous cocktails"Basil's Rum Punch" and "Hurricane David" just ask Mats on the evening.
See you all on the 16th June, at the beach of the Goring Hotel