The eyes of the world are upon London. From the last explosion of the final firework in the pyrotechnic Olympic Games closing ceremony in Beijing and the last splutter of the Olympic torch going out in China global attention switched to the host city of the next games. That city is London, host of the 2012 Olympiad.
The city of London is currently undergoing massive regeneration in preparation for being the host city of the summer Olympics. As the capital of England prepares to become the capital of sporting achievement and athletic prowess in the summer of 2012 the interest in London is already growing amongst foreign visitors. The Olympic Games are a massive sporting and tourist event promising huge amounts of visitors to the city and are sure to attract numerous new visitors to the city boosting tourism and business throughout the city. The effects of London’s successful bid are being felt immediately, tourists are streaming in to see the next host city and in a recent survey by VisitBritain one in three people who want to visit this country cite the games as a principal reason. Good news for London’s tourist industry indeed. And the good news continues, reports show that visitors for the games are likely to spend twice as long in the country as other tourists increasing the potential business for the British tourist industry.
The UK is expected to outperform global tourism growth by 50% both before and in the four years after the games with a potential 6.6 million extra visitors in the eight years from 2007-2012. London as the host city will inevitably be a focal point for these tourists. Whilst surveys suggest that foreign visitors will increase with both Russia and China expected to be at the forefront of those countries whose tourists will be considering visiting London specifically for the games, the recent good performances of the British team of athletes in the medal tables at the Beijing games is expected to provide a huge spike in domestic visitors to London with the medal hungry British public descending on the capital eager to see British triumphs in person. As people pour into the city the knock on effect of visitors becomes increasingly seen.
All these people need places to sleep eat and spend time when not solely Olympic orientated. The vast numbers of attractions of London apart from the Olympic events are expected to benefit both during and around the games. With the transport system being updated to ensure London is even more accessible and smaller in travelling terms tourists will find it easier to traverse the city packing in as much of the London experience as possible. Whilst the winners and losers in medal terms have to wait another two years to be decided it is clear even now that the biggest winner from the Olympic Games being hosted by London is London itself.
And a great hotel in Paddington to stay while you watch the Olympics is Tudor Court Hotel