The Tourism Industry Emergency Response (TIER) group met today (22 July) to assess the impact on tourism following the 7 July incidents in London. The group released new research, commissioned through Oxford Economic Forecasting, that indicates that spending by overseas visitors may be 2% below initial full-year expectations for 2005.
The results do not take into account the incidents of 21 July, which the industry believes will have serious implications for tourism in London and potentially the rest of the UK. Any effects from the 21 July incidents will be picked up during the term of the study, which is ongoing.
The economic tracking study which draws from a number of industry sources during the two-week period of 7 to 20 July indicates drop in spending would be at least £300 million less than industry expectations, which – as 50% of international visitors come to London – would represent a fall of £150 million to the capital, however this figure does not take the incidents of 21 July into consideration.
In spite of this, given the strong start to the year, the initial research suggests that overseas visitor arrivals and spending in the UK were still expected to show an increase over the 2004 year-end results.
The tracking study will continue to provide ongoing assessment of the situation. TIER will continue to monitor visitor numbers and receive intelligence from industry sources around the world and in the UK. This intelligence will help to establish the overall impact on the visitor economy and will be used to inform marketing and PR strategies to rebuild business.
Most Recent Comments