The 2012 London Olympics had expected to draw a good number of tourists after it saw a drop in the number of tourist and business arrivals over the past five years.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to get people interested in coming here next year and the year after that," Tourism Minister John Penrose told a news conference on the eve of the London Olympics.
"We have a pretty good tourism market but we're very conscious that this is not a static position. We need to come up with new and exciting reasons for people to come to Britain ... and it would be great to slay an old myth about British food."
Critics have questioned whether Britain should be spending 9 billion pounds on the Olympics when the economy is in dire straits. Economists have mixed views on what impact the Games will have on the economy, especially as previous Olympic hosts have found cashing in on the Olympics is no easy task.
Both Athens and Sydney, which had been hosts to recent Olympics, had been disappointed with the financial burden and post Olympic tourist turnout.
Sadie Dawe, chief executive of national tourism agency VisitBritain, said tourist numbers usually fell in an Olympic year but Britain posted a surprising 7 percent rise in visitors between January and May 2012.
It is believed that locals scared off by dire warnings of road and train chaos would likely cancel out any revenue boost from increased foreign visitors during the Games.
Penrose talked down suggestions that the Olympics could drag Britain out its recession but he said such a major event could boost confidence in the country.
"We plan to maximise the possibilities that the Olympics will create," said Penrose.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, under pressure to turn the economy around, is using the Olympics to drum up business with a series of trade and investment events starting on Thursday.
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