Brits to get big discounts on hotels during Olympics

PA

Brits are set to enjoy hefty discounts on hotel rooms in the UK during the Olympic Games if new government proposals to boost British tourism go ahead.

Ministers are talking to a number of hotel chains about offering more than 20 per cent off hotel rates for UK residents in a bid to encourage people to stay in the UK during next year's games, which start on July 27, 2012.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced the plans at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

'We want next year to be the year to have a holiday at home,' he said.

'We are talking to hotels up and down the country about offering discounts for next year for people who holiday at home: discounts of - wait for it - 20.12 per cent.'

The minister said that he wanted to use the Olympics to boost the UK's tourism industry and attract an extra four million tourists to the UK.

'I want to use this to transform our tourism industry so that when people see Hadrian's Wall, Offa's Dyke, Snowdonia, the cliffs of Cornwall, we want to convert good publicity into good business and attract an extra four million tourists to the UK in the years that follow 2012, creating an additional 50,000 jobs.

The games will finish on August 12, 2012, with the Paralympic Games following close behind from August 29 and September 9. During this period,London will welcome the highest concentration of global visitors ever during such a short period.

More than 12,000 additional hotel rooms are expected to be available in London in the run up to the 2012 Olympics, but Hotels.com predicts the increase in demand means hotel prices could rise by 30 to 50 per cent.