Post-Olympic tourism: a golden opportunity?

15 October 2012

Post-Olympic tourism legacies to be the focus of event at Bournemouth University.

Optimising post-Olympic tourism from the London 2012 Games will be the focus of an event at Bournemouth University.

Going For Gold: Leveraging Post Olympic Tourism Legacies, takes place on Friday 9th November, and will be led by Dr Richard Shipway, senior lecturer in sports studies and associate dean of the School of Tourism at Bournemouth University.

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, from BU's School of Tourism, will chair a debate on national and regional perspectives on Olympic Tourism.

Guests in the debate will include Chris Foy, head of the 2012 Games Unit at Visit Britain, and Phil Evans, Head of Strategy at Visit England.

This will be followed by a Critical Reflections on the Impacts and Legacies of Olympic Tourism session, which will be chaired by Professor Stephen Page, from BU’s School of Tourism.

Going For Gold is one of four events being held by Bournemouth University as part of the tenth annual Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science, which celebrates the best of British social science research.

Other events being run by BU will look at the challenges facing older, gay people and how changes to copyright law will impact on the creative industry.

Around 200 school-children will also have the opportunity to debate the London 2012 legacy, at an event on 5 November.

Dr Rebecca Edwards, Research Development Officer in Public Engagement for BU, said: “Bournemouth University is delighted to have been awarded sponsorship to run four events during the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science.

“Inclusion in this prestigious national event demonstrates Bournemouth University’s commitment to public engagement and research excellence.”

Going For Gold will run from 12 noon to 5pm at BU’s Executive Business Centre, and will finish with an afternoon tea and drinks reception.

It is free to attend and open to members of the public.

If you would like to attend, or wish to find out more about the event, contact Dr Rebecca Edwards on redwards@bournemouth.ac.uk or 01202 961206.