Culture secretary Tessa Jowell has challenged tourism chiefs to generate billions of pounds for the UK economy when London hosts the Olympics in 2012.

Jowell was joined by the prime minister and Lord Coe, chair of the Olympic organising committee, in a breakfast meeting with leaders of the nation's major tourism and leisure groups at Downing Street on Tuesday morning.

The aim was to stress the message that the public and private sectors must start working now to ensure that the London 2012 brand is strong internationally by the time the Games begin.

Jowell predicted a possible 25 per cent growth surge - or £100bn - in tourism by 2012, but in order to achieve this, action on skills, quality and regional investment had to start now, she said.

"By starting now we can make sure the value in some cases is immediate," the minister said.

The Hilton Group, Center Parcs, The Tussauds Group and the Eden Project were among the organisations represented at the meeting.

They were invited by the government to sign up to an Olympic Charter which aims to raise the standard of accommodation for tourists, making sure staff have the necessary skills to look after visitors, and ensuring that disabled tourists get proper access to the Games.

The government also stressed that the Games will leave a legacy in terms of tourist facilities and produce benefits around the country - not just London.

Brent Hoberman, founder of lastminute.com, said the focus of the meeting was on "a brand Britain and regulation and what more the government can be doing to co-ordinate all that".

"I think that it is a very important part of it that the public and private sectors are working together on this and they are not in competition," he added.