After five days of riots which involved over 1,000 arrests, hundreds of injuries and one death, things appear to be calming down in London. The impact this has had on tourism, according to UK-based European Tour Operators Association, is ‘negligible.’
The ETOA claims that there have been 330 cancellations at hotels across London for the forthcoming week. On the basis that these people would have stayed two nights, this represents 660 missing bed-nights throughout the week or 95 cancellations per night. This figure also includes student groups who chose to defer their arrival to a later date.
The ETOA statement adds that ‘people cancel for a myriad of reasons; the disturbances have, for now, proved as significant a factor as having a sick dog or flooding the bathroom.’
In response to the question, “Will this impact the Olympics?” Tom Jenkins, ETOA’s Executive Director said: “No. The Olympics is, overwhelmingly, a domestic event. British people won’t be put off from visiting the Olympics in Stratford because a year earlier shop windows were broken in Hackney.
