Retailers considers impact on tourism of London bomb attacks

While there has not been an exodus of tourists out of London after the second round of terrorist attacks in two weeks, retailers and tourism officials are concerned about the impact that the attacks will have on their businesses on the long term.

The worry is that with a second set of attacks, rebound will be slowed because such incidents will be seen as an ongoing problem rather than an isolated occurrence.

Before the most recent attacks, the World Travel & Tourism Council Crisis Committee had estimated that visitor arrivals in the UK might go down by around 588,000 from the originally predicted 30.95 million visitors for 2005.

Additionally, it was expected that the effect to the tourist industry from the July 7 bombings would dissipate by 2007.

The newest bombings, however, have left those forecasts in jeopardy. A VisitBritain spokesman said that there had been a few postponements or cancellations of trips to the UK after the July 7 bombings.

More cancellations, however, could cut significantly into the 4 percent tourism-related spending contributes to Britain’s gross domestic product. London itself accounts for 50 percent of foreign tourism and serves as a hub for those traveling to other destinations.

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