The FINANCIAL -- Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has urged operators to price fairly and make the most of the business opportunity presented by London 2012, according to Caterer and Hotelkeeper.

Addressing hoteliers and tourism bodies at the British Museum as part of his national 2012 tour, Hunt said the country had the chance to get noticed by the world.

Hunt said that on any given day of the Olympic and Paralympic Games there would be an extra one million people in the capital.

He also urged operators to sign up to the 20.12% discount scheme to make the games as accessible as possible to domestic tourists, who are to be targeted in a £5m ad campaign launching next month.

VisitEngland confirmed that hotel group De Vere was the latest hospitality firm to sign up, joining Travelodge and Best Western among the operators supporting the discount scheme.

Hunt said that if London 2012 was managed successfully it would be the moment when the domestic tourism industry competed properly with the rest of the world.

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