Marketing Great Britain as a premier tourist destination for the world traveller will be all the easier for the warm welcome that the nation extends to its incoming visitors, which appears to be the message from visitors to the 2012 London Olympic Games.
VisitBritain, the official tourism website for Great Britain, has released the results of a recent survey of outbound tourists from the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The survey appears to confirm that the nation has improved its image as a travel destination, as around 80 percent of the people surveyed are likely to recommend the country to their friends, having been made to feel ‘very welcome’.
The survey, conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority, with around 9,000 departing overseas visitors, reveals that there has been a noticeable improvement in visitors feeling welcome in Great Britain, as well as an increased likelihood of them recommending Britain to others.
Patricia Yates, the director of strategy and communications at VisitBritain, said, ‘Enhancing the world’s perceptions of a British welcome will help us attract more visitors in the years ahead. The London 2012 Games were a great advertisement for Britain – with the volunteers and the warmth of the welcome being picked up around the world.
We want to make sure that we continue to be seen as a welcoming destination for our visitors so that they continue to want to come back and recommend us to their friends and family.’
Around 40 percent of the respondents are ‘extremely likely’ to recommend visits to Britain for a holiday to friends and family, compared to 5 percent of respondents in 2010.
