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News: Tourist Bodies Back Bringing Tour to Britain

Two leading tourism bodies have today backed a proposal to bring the opening stages of the Tour de France to Great Britain – VisitScotland and VisitBritain

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“Fantastic opportunity” for Great Britain to capitalise on the ‘Wiggins Effect’

Two leading tourism bodies have today backed a proposal to bring the opening stages of the Tour de France to Great Britain. VisitScotland and VisitBritain have described the “fantastic opportunity” presented by the Tour, following the historic victory for Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky in Paris last weekend.

The proposal is being developed by VisitScotland’s events arm EventScotland, in partnership with British Cycling, UK Sport and the City of Edinburgh Council. The planned location for the Grand Depart is Edinburgh with up to three stages currently being developed across the rest of Britain with the aim of keeping the Tour in Britain for as long as possible.

Scotland is already renowned as a cycling destination for visitors and regularly hosts the sports elite riders in events such as the Tour of Britain. Recent research shows the growing popularity of the activity with some 274,000 trips involving road cycling made by British residents into Scotland last year – up by almost 100,000. The result – a £64million boost to the Scottish economy- is expected to be enhanced further as more and more visitors get back in the saddle inspired by the success of Team Sky last week.

As well as a welcome boost to the visitor economy, the Tour de France presents a significant opportunity to showcase the country to the world, through both visiting spectators and global media coverage.

In 2007, when the Tour visited London and Kent, around two million spectators watched the opening stages, with 75 TV channels broadcasting to an estimated two billion people. Spectators are at the very heart of the Tour de France, and hosting the event would give Britain the chance to continue an incredible period of sport.

The Tour has global appeal and would attract large numbers of spectators from overseas, which in turn would deliver a significant economic impact for Britain. The Tour generated an estimated £88m for London and Kent, with an additional £35m in media exposure.

Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland said: “We are currently in the midst of ‘The Winning Years’ and we are all looking forward to three incredible sporting events in the London 2012 Olympics, the 2014 Commonwealth Games and The 2014 Ryder Cup. Hosting the Tour de France would be a wonderful way to continue our momentum, and it would certainly provide a fantastic opportunity to grow the visitor economy. The partners currently involved in developing a proposal are well positioned to maximise the benefits for the whole of Britain, and what better legacy from the incredible achievements of Team Sky this year than to bring the Tour back.

“Edinburgh would be the ideal city for the Grand Depart and what better location than Edinburgh Castle for the presentation of the riders. The city is an international travel hub, and we can boast some of the finest hotels, restaurants and attractions in the world, which would cater for fans of the Tour. In the Edinburgh Festivals, the city is already home to the world’s biggest cultural gathering and it would be incredible to welcome the sporting elite to Scotland’s capital.”

Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive for VisitBritain said: “Following the wonderful success of Bradley Wiggins last weekend, the prospect of bringing the Tour de France back to Great Britain is very exciting. The event is a huge public spectacle, which would attract large numbers of spectators to the country, and the media coverage would provide us with a wonderful opportunity to showcase our stunning natural environment. A route that stretches throughout Britain would allow the associated economic benefits to be spread across the country, while giving as many people as possible the opportunity to see and interact with this global sporting event. When London hosted the Grand Depart in 2007 it was a huge success, and there is no doubt that the current level of British passion and excitement for the sport would make the event unmissable if it was to return.”

 

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