Hoteliers confident of a sell-out Twenty20 World Cup

SALES of hotel rooms for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in Nottingham have disappointed hoteliers.

But tourism bosses are confident a late rush will ensure the city is full, when the tournament begins at the end of this month.

Nottingham is hosting 10 matches in the men's tournament and four warm-up games at Trent Bridge.

Lord's and The Oval are the other venues.

The competition is expected to boost Nottingham's economy by more than £10m.

The organisers expect thousands of visitors to attend matches, and stay in the city.

There is also strong local interest with three Notts players, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad, in England's 15-man World ICC Twenty20 squad.

The Evening Post, in association with Trent Bridge, is giving away 400 tickets for England's warm up match against Scotland.

However, ticket agencies, which sell packages of match tickets and hotel reservations, have failed to shift as many as expected.

Edward Mopps, sales manager at the Park Inn, on Mansfield Road, said: "We have taken some bookings and we are hopeful it will pick up nearer the time. Generally cricket is good for hotels in Nottingham."

Mr Mopps said trade had been better than expected in recent months, with conferences and city breaks doing well, but much of it was last minute. Other hotels have reported slow sales to cricket fans.

There is a general frustration at what is perceived as a lack of promotion of the event by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Dale Twigger, a tourism executive at Experience Nottinghamshire, said: "It is a bit slow on the uptake but booking is often late."

Experience Nottinghamshire is sending an email to 25,000 people who have previously shown interest in Nottingham, to encourage interest in the Twenty20 event.

Mr Twigger said overall June would be a good month for city hoteliers. As well as the cricket competition, there are two major tennis tournaments and international hockey matches in Nottingham.

Whereas major test matches always sell out hotels, the tewnty20 tournament is a one-off.

But Mr Twigger said: "Trent Bridge is a good venue to watch cricket. It should do well."

The Tourist Information Centre in Nottingham is now braced for an influx of calls from cricket fans seeking accommodation.

Neil Beardsley, customer service3 coordinator, at the centre, takes calls from fans in the run up to events to help them find accommodation. He has a good track record at finding rooms for desperate supporters.

Mr Beardsley said: "I will be getting calls, I can guarantee it."