Hotels join the race to cash in on Olympic ‘staycations’

A NEW “staycation” campaign offering at least a fifth off the normal price of millions of hotel rooms across Britain will be launched this week.

A dedicated website will be set up, which will offer discounts for bookings this year and throughout 2013, as long as they are made before the end of the Paralympics in London in mid-September.

More than three million hotel rooms are already lined up for the initiative, with the same 20.12 per cent discounts made available at participating restaurants and visitor attractions.

The scheme is aimed at creating 12,000 jobs, as well as 5.3 million extra short breaks. It will apply to bookings made in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Attractions such as the London Eye, Alton Towers and the Royal Yacht Britannia have signed up to take part.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “With the diamond jubilee and the Olympic Games, this year is the perfect opportunity for more of us to holiday in the UK.

“With so much going on, and this fantastic new 20.12 per cent discount scheme, it’s a great opportunity to see what Britain has to offer,” the minister added.

“The inevitable moans and groans in the run-up to an Olympics must not cloud the scale of the opportunity – including our biggest ever tourism marketing campaign to make sure we get a lasting benefit from being in the global spotlight.”