Business Brains Back the Bid

On the eve of the visit to London by the IOC inspectors, Chartered Accountants who are working within, or whose clients are in the tourism and hospitality industry are strongly of the opinion that if London were to win the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games there would be great long term advantages for the tourism & hospitality industry in the United Kingdom.

The Tourism & Hospitality Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants has surveyed several thousand members working within the tourism and hospitality sectors and the initial results have shown a positive endorsement for the bid by London to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

Just under 70% of those who responded felt that if London were to win the bid then there would be long term advantages for the tourism and hospitality industry in the UK, whilst only a fifth of those questioned felt that this would not be the case. Those chartered accountants who did respond were based across the whole of England and Wales demonstrating that support for the bid is countrywide amongst finance professionals and not just limited to London.

Commenting on these results, Chairman of the Tourism & Hospitality SIG, Geraint James said

"As Tessa Jowell and Lord Coe have told us, winning the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games for 2012 will bring significant benefits for all of the nations and regions of the UK.

"The benefits will be felt across every part of the United Kingdom, and they include hosting visiting teams, staging events and increasing tourism and business. The bid includes venues such as Hampden Park, the Millennium Stadium and Old Trafford, so this is an opportunity for the whole of the UK tourism industry to benefit from the bid."

The Group will send details of their survey to the London 2012 Bid Committee expressing their support for the bid. The winning candidate city will be announced on the 6th July 2005.


ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales is the largest professional accountancy body in Europe, with over 126,000 members. Some 3,000 new members qualify each year. The Institute’s qualification, which allows members to call themselves Chartered Accountants and to use the designatory letters ACA or FCA, is recognised around the world as a prestigious business qualification.

2. The Institute operates under a Royal Charter, working in the public interest. Its primary objectives are to educate and train Chartered Accountants, to maintain high standards for professional conduct among members, to provide services to its members and students, and to advance the theory and practice of accountancy.

3. The Tourism and Hospitality SIG is made up of members of the ICAEW working within the tourism and hospitality sectors, and its Committee is chaired by Geraint James, Finance Director of the Wales Tourist Board.


Media Enquiries:

Simon Evans, Press & Public Affairs Manager, Tourism & Hospitality SIG on 01443 478291 or 07765 235628 or at simon.evans@icaew.co.uk