London 2102 Olympics: 'I want to look back and be proud of my legacy' HUNT on... UK tourism Unsurprisingly, Mr Hunt is passionately keen to promote a scheme, to be officially launched this week, that offers substantial discounts to people who book holidays that are taken in Britain before the end of 2012. Already, some two million "hotel nights" are part of the scheme, as well as other visitor attractions including the Royal Yacht Britannia, currently moored at Leith, and Chatsworth House, the Derbyshire seat of the Duke of Devonshire. While foreign destinations spend millions advertising themselves in Britain, the domestic industry has been somewhat in the doldrums for years, battered by Foot and Mouth disease, successive poor summers and tough economic times. Mr Hunt wants all this to change and has sanctioned a £5 million advertising blitz on the Olympic-linked "20.12 per cent discount" campaign to be spearheaded by celebrities including Stephen Fry, Michelle Dockery, the Downton Abbey actress, Julie Walters and Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films. There's this incredible moment when you have the spotlight of the world on our country, and the whole world is thinking how amazing Britain is. How can we use that to transform our tourism industry? We're not saying don't go abroad, we all love going abroad - I go abroad for our holiday as well - but we are saying maybe for your second holiday, your third holiday, for a weekend away, don't automatically assume that if you want a break, you should go abroad, when we've got so much on our doorstep. You just go outside and you just look at the advertising hoardings and you see them plastered with ads for India, Australia, Spain, Israel, Turkey, but where's the advertising for what we've got right here? What we're trying to do is to galvanise UK tourist destinations to promote themselves really seriously, and not just to roll over in the face of huge competition from overseas destinations which spend a fortune marketing themselves in the UK. Is the Hunt family - he is married to Lucia and the couple have a 20-month-old son, Jack - keen on 'staycations"? "I predicted that particular question," he laughs. I love staycations. We went to Wales the weekend before last. In the past year I've been to Yorkshire, Scotland, Cornwall and Wales. HUNT on... the countryside The Culture Secretary is, unsurprisingly, quite clear that in marketing Britain, its countryside is a major attraction. So is he concerned about being a member of a Cabinet whose draft planning reforms are seen by many, including the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, as weighted too heavily in favour of development? Mr Hunt, who represents the largely rural constituency of South West Surrey, drops a broad hint that by the time the National Planning Policy Framework is published in full, at the end of this month, changes will have made. I think that when these reforms are implemented, we'll have confounded the critics because we are absolutely passionate about the countryside, and I don't believe they will impact the countryside at all. He insists that the Coalition's drive to replace a complex, "top-down" approach to planning decisions with a simpler, "bottom-up" system, which is meant to give more say to local people, is the right way forward. They will see when these reforms are implemented that far from the countryside being bulldozed, it will be better protected than ever before. And people are rightly totally passionate about our countryside. I'm passionate about our tourism industry, you know. A beautiful countryside is a very, very key part of that. HUNT on... the 2012 Olympics Mr Hunt has already confirmed that the London Games will buck the trend of austerity and provide a shining showcase, along with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, for Britain in 2012. Despite security concerns being paramount, Mr Hunt is confident that queues will not be too long, and that actually getting to destinations will not be too difficult, thanks in part to some 70,000 volunteers. We have put a huge amount of thinking into what we call, in the organisation of the Games, 'the last mile. It's basically the distance between whatever public transport you arrive on and actual entry to an Olympic event, and we want to make sure that it's as clearly sign-posted and as pleasant an experience as possible. Did he, we wonder, apply for any tickets (using the controversial online system) as a simple punter? Yes - I managed to get two tickets to the badminton finals. My wife's Chinese and I chose those because China normally wins. Mrs Hunt is clearly a lucky charm, as her application also yielded four tickets to the closing ceremony, one of the most sought-after events. "There was no fix," he laughs. He is keen not to set a "target" for Britain in the medals table, saying it was "beyond our wildest dreams" to finish fourth four years ago in Beijing. People talk about home side advantage, but also of course there's huge pressure when you're competing at home. HUNT on... sport in schools A big boost for school and youth sport would be the best legacy of the London Olympics, Mr Hunt is clear. However, he also recognises this is a major challenge in an era of massive pressures on state spending. It was a "matter of shame" that previous governments (he is keen to stress that both Conservative and Labour administrations were at fault) allowed the routine sale of school playing fields. Safeguards are now in place to prevent the practice, unless the circumstances are exceptional, he adds. Mr Hunt sees the Olympics as a huge opportunity to impress on youngsters how vital it is to lead an active life. It's incredibly important for health reasons... but it's also about values. Life is pretty rough and tough for people, particularly when you look at the current economic environment and the challenges that families are having to face, and competitive sport is one of the best possible ways of teaching young people how to cope with disappointment and setbacks. And that's why I think it's really important to increase the number of people having an opportunity to play competitive sport, and to kill off once and for all this terrible Left-wing dogma that says we should stop children playing competitive sport because it damages self-esteem. Nothing damages a child's self-esteem more than not teaching them to cope with the disappointments, failures and setbacks that are a part of all of our lives when we reach adulthood. The dedication of Olympic stars such as Sir Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis and Tom Daley makes them perfect role models, according to Mr Hunt. By contrast, the actions of Derek Chisora, the heavyweight boxer now banned after brawling with a rival during a press conference following a world title bout, were "absolutely disgraceful." HUNT on... the BBC and women Debate has raged recently over a "culture of sexism" at the BBC, with MPs including Conservatives Louise Mensch and Nadine Dorries, as well as Labour's Stella Creasey, accusing the corporation of sidelining female presenters, particularly on its flagship programmes such as Radio 4"s Today. Currently, the BBC's leading news radio programme has just one female presenter, Sarah Montague, whose voice, critics say, can get lost among the strident male tones of John Humphrys, James Naughtie et al. Unlike some of his more risk-averse colleagues, Mr Hunt is keen to join the fray. "I'd like to see many more female presenters across the BBC, and across all our broadcasters," he says. He is conscious of protecting the BBC's independence, and that it would not do for the Culture Secretary to tell the organisation "what to broadcast," but his personal view is clear: "If you ask me would I like to see that, yes, I would - and I think the BBC is conscious of that, and they are actually trying to change that." Mr Hunt goes still further and says it would be "wonderful" if a woman succeeded the current director-general, Mark Thompson, when he steps down within months. Candidates to take over include Helen Boaden, who runs BBC News, and Caroline Thomson, the corporation's chief operating officer. The BBC has never had a female "DG." Well, it would be wonderful to have a female DG, just as it was wonderful to have a female prime minister. But I think the worst possible thing would be if an individual became DG because they were a woman. And so I think we've got to be really careful to make sure that we've picked the best person for the job and not picked someone because of their gender. HUNT on... his political future As well as being touted as a potential party leader, Mr Hunt has also been spoken of, approvingly by many, as a possible successor to Andrew Lansley, the embattled Health Secretary. It is fair to say that he explains things well and has a plausible bedside manner, which could potentially help the Tories to recover lost ground as they battle to implement what many see as an unnecessary NHS shake-up. Mr Hunt deals with such questions elegantly - without ever denying his ambition. By the time this becomes an issue, I'm sure I will be a footnote in political history. I've got a wonderful opportunity this summer to be responsible for the Games, and that's what I'm focusing my attention on. He also wants to leave a clear legacy, and says this is what motivates him. "I am obsessed not by what people say about me now, but what people will say about what I've done in office when they look in 10 years" time. The curse of modern politics is that too few politicians get to leave a real legacy. If I could deliver a fantastic Games for the country, along with people like Seb Coe, who are doing such a fantastic job; if I could deliver super-fast broadband to most of the country by the end of this Parliament; if I'm able to help bring in a new era of local TV companies; and if we can weather the most incredible financial storm since the Second World War, then I'll be able to look back on this period and feel incredibly proud of what I've done. That matters more to me than what anyone says about me right now. Jeremy Hunt: A Few of My Favourite Things As part of The Sunday Telegraph's recent 50th birthday celebrations, we have been asking prominent interviewees - including David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Boris Johnson - for a list of favourites in a number of categories from the past five decades. Book William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner by William Hague Film Life Is Beautiful, the 1997 Italian film directed by Roberto Benigni Album Clapton Chronicles: The Best of Eric Clapton Actor Morgan Freeman Politician Baroness Thatcher Sporting memory Winning a three-and-a-half mile race as a 13-year-old schoolboy Building Sage, the music and arts centre by the Tyne in Gateshead Holiday destination Dartmoor TV programme The Office Invention iPhone Act of Parliament The 1980s trade union reforms The coastal walk in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, which Mr Hunt declared as "absolutely stunning" Argyllshire Yorkshire Dales The coastline of North Cornwall The Devil's Punchbowl, Hindhead, Surrey, which is in Mr Hunt's South West Surrey constituency Views from Waterloo Bridge, London The Waterfront at Cardiff The "Backs" - Cambridge colleges that back on to the River Cam Dartmoor National Park in Devon Matlock, the Derbyshire Peak District Town