What future for Britain? A report by accountants Deloitte and Oxford Economics predicts a surge of 60 per cent in the value of tourism after the 2012 Olympics. By 2020 tourism could account for £188 billion of Britain’s economy, surpassing manufacturing, which currently generates £160 billion.
Tourism is expected to expand and create more jobs – 200,000 – faster than construction, retail or manufacturing during this period. A nation no longer of the industrial workshop of the world but leisure assistants, theme park guides, retail and restaurant waiting staff. A service nation taken to the extreme.