© Image Bank
DOMESTIC rather than international tourists have been staying away from London following the July terrorist attacks, according to VisitBritain. The British tourism body said August and September forward bookings showed a 30% drop from this sector of the market, with attractions outside the capital showing a compensatory 30% boost.
VisitBritain’s head of government and public affairs Bernard Donoghue said: “Normally it is the Americans who are risk averse, but not this time. The domestic family market has been staying away from attractions within the Circle Line of the London Underground system and there has been displacement which shows that sister attractions outside that area have seen a comparable increase.”
However, he added: “The world is now taking terrorism incidents in its stride and places that have suffered attacks see a much quicker recovery.”
VisitBritain’s findings are backed up by figures released last week as part of World Travel Market’s UK and European Travel Report in association with tourism consultancy group IPK International. It showed London visitor numbers from Britain’s nine major European markets were up 10% in the first nine months of 2005.
Donoghue chairs the Tourism Industry Emergency Response group which commissioned research with the London Development Agency and Visit London to discover the full impact of the summer attacks. It found the UK economy lost £750 million as a result of the bombings, £500 million of which was lost from London.
A raft of measures has now been put in place to combat the domestic market’s reluctance to visit the capital, including 500,000 UK residents receiving a new Enjoy England booklet called 10 Great Ideas, which encourages them to take short breaks.
September saw the distribution of a 36-page guide through newspapers, and the launch of a dedicated website with listings of events, attractions and festivals, as part of a London in September initiative. Also, offer-driven campaigns and advertising in the southeast went into overdrive, offering Kids Go Free initiatives to many family attractions.
However, the international market is still targeted. Among a wide variety of campaigns to raise the profile of British holidays is the Royal family’s bid to encourage Americans to visit.
October saw US TV network ABC present Good Morning America from Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Edinburgh’s Holyrood House.
Donoghue said: “Around five million Americans watched the show. The number of hits we got on the VisitBritain website made it clear those who had seen Windsor Castle in their living rooms wanted to see the living rooms of Windsor Castle.”
He also revealed VisitBritain had spoken with Clarence House, home of HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, to discuss how their recent trip to the US could help boost tourism.
