The London Olympic Games are now just a year away and tourism bosses are hoping that as the world’s eyes turn towards the UK the country can capitalise on the interest. VisitBritain is determined that the event will be an opportunity to show the word what Britain has to offer. It is hoped that over the coming four years an extra four million tourists will decide to visit the UK.

According to Sandie Dawe, chief executive of VisitBritain, next year’s Games will allow potential visitors to see just how much the country has to offer including the history, the culture, the countryside and the cuisine.

The Games will begin on 27 July and run through to 12 August. The Paralympics will then begin on 29 August and finish on 9 September. The Games will see athletes in their thousands pouring into the capital from more than 200 countries around the world.

London 2012 Organising Committee chairman, Sebastian Coe, said he wanted to generate and drive tourism nationally rather than simply concentrating on the capital. An Oxford Economics independent report estimates that 5.5 million people will enter the capital during the Olympics with 450,000 staying within London.

Although it is predicted that an additional 12,000 hotel rooms will be offered to visitors to the city before the Games, Hotel.com foresees room rates rocketing by as much as 50 per cent. VisitBritain is hoping that many of those coming to watch the events will stay on afterwards and predicts that post-Games tourism will account for around 50 per cent of Olympic related revenue.