THE new official Cotswolds Visitor Guide has been published early ready for the 2012 season.

Readers can expect a strong sporting theme to the new edition with a welcome message from Olympic rower Zac Purchase, former member of Evesham rowing club.

This year’s guide also has articles on Gloucestershire’s Olympic Torch Relay and Robert Dover’s Olimpick Games - who will be celebrating their 400th anniversary next year.

The guide can now be bought in tourist information centres across the Cotswolds, Cheltenham and Gloucester.

Despite the sporting themes in the guide, Sally Graff of Cotswold Tourism said that sport is just one of the Cotswolds assets.

She said: “We are obviously keen to emphasise eye-catching sporting links in 2012 but we also recognise that, for many people, the appeal of the Cotswolds lies in traditional themes such as top quality accommodation, gardens, crafts, walking and cultural events and festivals.

“The guide is a co-production between local authorities in Gloucestershire and those who work so hard in our tourism industry – hundreds of these people back the guide with their own cash.”

The guide aims to encourage longer stays in the area and also encourages visitors to travel in and around the Cotswolds, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Gloucester and Cheltenham.

Jackie Faulkner, manager of the Bourton Tourist Information Centre, said: “It’s a very good guide.

“People who are here on holiday looking for accommodation don’t always have access to the internet. They rely on us and books like this to find somewhere to stay in the local area.”

Gloucestershire’s tourism industry is worth around £1bn annually.

For more information or to order a copy of the guide visit cotswolds.com.