The aim of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is to improve the quality of life for all through cultural and sporting activities, support the pursuit of excellence, and champion the tourism, creative and leisure industry. In particular it aims to maximise the contribution of the tourism industry to the economy. VisitBritain was established as a strategic market focussed body in 2003 and is sponsored by DCMS.
 
DCMS promotes the sustainable development of tourism through the development of high level strategies and frameworks working with VisitBritain and other stakeholders, across Government, and with the European Commission's Tourism Sustainability Group and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. It published Making Tourism in England Sustainable in 2006 as part of the Welcome>Legacy: a tourism strategy for the 2012 Games consultation and Winning: A tourism strategy for 2102 and beyond. This set out a vision for the Games through engaging all UK tourism businesses in a national campaign, improving international perceptions of the Games, delivering a first class welcome, improving the skills of the workforce, driving up quality in accommodation, maximising the opportunities for increasing business visits and events, and spreading the benefits to ensure that every part of the UK benefits from the Games. It also stressed the importance of improving sustainability by ensuring that the needs of the community are central to the development of tourism and that the environmental impact of tourism is resolved in line with the ambition to make the Games the greenest in history.