VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, is warning that visitor numbers to the UK from abroad could fall during the 2012 Olympic Games. When both Sydney and Athens were hosting the games, tourism figures were down on what would be expected during an average year. However, both countries saw long term benefits in terms of visitor numbers because of the profile the games gave them.

Holidaymakers planning to visit countries hosting the Olympics are often put off because of a perceived hike in the prices of flights and hotel rooms. VisitBritain has assembled a group of experts to look into how the London Olympics can be used to promote the rest of the UK and turn a potential deficit into £2.1 billion profit.

The tourism agency is also due to approach the government about using some of the £2 billion collected every year from taxes on airline passengers to fund Britain’s tourist industry. Chairman of VisitBritain, Christopher Rodrigues, pointed out that the US tourism industry was already being given a significant portion of the new Esta visitor’s tax to put towards promoting the country.

Mr Rodriguez admitted that it was going to be a battle to try and maintain tourist numbers throughout the year of the London Olympics, but that there was no reason why travellers from overseas wishing to visit Scotland should be put off doing so just because there were games in London.

He said he was currently working with Britain’s hotels to make sure that their rooms are not over-priced during the games to the point where they put visitors off, as had been the case for some during the Football World Cup in South Africa this year.