Pictured above: (l-r) Will Bastin (Project Officer for the 2012 Games), Daniel Gidney (Chief Executive of the Ricoh Arena), David Hayden (General Manger, Ettington Chase Hotel) and Tracy Benbow (Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce)

A leading figure in regional tourism has called for members of the sector in Coventry and Warwickshire to work together in order to maximise the unique opportunities coming their way.

Daniel Gidney - chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership's (LEP) Tourism Task Force and chief executive of the Ricoh Arena - advised 40 local businesses on what could be done to attract visitors and increase the amount of money they spend, developing the regional economy.

Gidney was speaking at a quarterly meeting of the members of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce's TLC (Tourism, Leisure and Conference sector) which aims to promote tourism and leisure in the Coventry and Warwickshire area.

He outlined the task force's six key work streams and stressed the need to capitalise on both the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Rugby World Cup in 2015 - both of which will be coming to Coventry.

"In Coventry and Warwickshire we are very fortunate to have a wide range of attractions that draw visitors to the area," said Gidney.

"What we want to do is to take those day-trips and convert them into short breaks of two or three nights. The way to do that is to offer potential visitors a 'big weekend' made up of four or five key hooks to draw the area before they discover the rest of what we have to offer for themselves.

"The Ricoh Arena has helped the region jump into the top seven conferencing venues in the UK but we can only accommodate so many guests in our hotel so this is just one other example of an opportunity to spread the income across the region.

"The lack of accommodation in the region is an issue we need to look at, particularly as we prepare for London 2012.

"The Ricoh Arena will host 12 football matches as the City of Coventry Stadium and we have a great opportunity to offer the Olympic experience for less cost than London and we need to ensure the whole area makes the most of it.

"All of this is being considered as we liaise with the local authorities and develop strategies for moving the whole process forward."

Will Bastin, Project Officer for the 2012 Games, also attended the event - which was sponsored by Stratford-upon Avon's Ettington Chase Hotel - and provided an update on preparations for Coventry and Warwickshire's involvement in London 2012.

Tracy Benbow from the Chamber chaired the event and was delighted with how it went.

She said: "It was interesting to hear about the progress of the LEP Tourism Task force and I know our delegates found it very useful.

"The Chamber has been working extremely hard, through the TLC group, to promote tourism in the area and events like this really do help to bring people within the industry together, which is often the first step.

"The opportunity to quiz our speakers in a question and answer session at the end was very constructive."