THE British Tourist Authority is hoping to recruit famous athletes as tourism ambassadors to help promote Britain abroad.
The sporting heroes will be asked to give up some of their time when abroad to help local British tourist offices promote the UK.
The Sports Tourism Forum is being set up which will include leading figures from sports governing bodies, the tourism industry as well as the athletes.
It will tackle issues facing sports tourism, such as dealing with ticket distribution for major events. This area has been identified as problematic in the past as lack of ticket availability for tour operators impeded outbound sales.
The forum will be responsible for international marketing in 27 different countries, a dedicated Sporting Britain Web page, development, packaging and travel trade training. It will also bid for major events. An Olympic bid, most likely for London, is also being considered as part of the BTA initiative.
Minister of tourism Janet Anderson and minister of sport Kate Hoey said over £300,000 will be invested in the campaign over the next 12 months. BTA chief executive Jeff Hamblin said for each pound spent, a £30 return is expected. “That’s certainly not ambitious, that’s achievable,” he said.
The BTAplans to host more tournaments for young people to encourage more visitors to Britain.