A combination of the wettest summer for 100 years and the effect of the Olympics led to the worst trading period “in living memory” for many London attractions, new figures reveal. Some attractions suffered a 60 per cent drop in visitor numbers while shops, restaurants and cafés all experienced a fall in consumer spending.
The figures come from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) and show that London saw an average decrease in visitor numbers of 15 per cent between May and August compared with the same period in 2011.
Outdoor attractions such as the Royal Botanic Gardens and London Zoo were the hardest hit by the poor weather, suffering a fall of 21.3 per cent. Spending in retail and catering commercial properties dropped by 9.7 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively.
The heritage and culture sector also experienced a significant fall in visitor numbers over the summer. The Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London saw a slump of 20.3 per cent while visitors to the capital’s museums and galleries was down by 13.1 per cent.
Bernard Donoghue, the chief executive of Alva, said the appalling weather and the Olympics had led to a difficult summer for some of the city’s most popular attractions and resulted in the worst trading period since the panic over foot and mouth in 2001.
He said; “In the first couple of weeks of the Olympics, some of the key central London attractions experienced a huge fall of up to 61 per cent in visitor numbers compared to the same weeks last year.”
“Overseas visitors who stayed away from London during the Olympic period and Londoners who avoided the city led to media headlines of London being described as a ghost town.”
Alva now hopes that TV viewers who loved the way London looked during the Games will flock to the city in the coming months. The news coincides with an attack on the government from the editors of the Good Hotel Guide, who say that budget cuts led to the UK wasting the opportunity to develop tourism during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics.
Weather-and-Olympics-Blamed-for-Fall-in-London-Visitor-Numbers
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