London Hotels Get Ready to Handle One Million Visitors for Tour de France

London, United Kingdom, July 06, 2007 --(PR.com)-- For the first time in its 100-year history, the Tour de France will start in London as part of a dedicated three-day celebration - The Grand Depart 2007 – which is expected to attract more than 1 million visitors over 3 days.

Celebrations for the world-famous Tour de France would start with an opening ceremony in Trafalgar Square on the 6th July, followed by a 1-day race through London on Saturday 7th July. The official launch of the first leg of the Tour de France takes place on Sunday 8th July and sees riders racing through London on their way to Canterbury.

Speaking about the event, Kate Sharman, Account Manager with BHRConline.com, explains, “It is a great honour for London to host such a prestigious event, and its historic setting will create a dramatic backdrop for one of the biggest annual sporting events in the world.”

It has been estimated that the race will attract over 1 million visitors to the capital and by coinciding with the Wimbledon Tennis Championships Finals, demand for accommodation is through the roof, with majority of hotels near venue already fully booked. BHRC recommends to try the adjoining districts for reasonably-priced accommodation.

“We recommend that if people are visiting London this coming weekend to join in the celebrations or simply through necessity, that they book accommodation immediately. We are anticipating that last minute room availability will be very hard to come by and it is likely that last minute rates might be high,” suggests Kate.

Most top hotels have seen bookings pour in since last week. BHRC's own highly experienced reservation team has anticipated the situation and is fully prepared to assist customers with difficult bookings, particularly for when occupancy levels in London are high due to various events.

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