London tourism set for speedy recovery

In the wake of the London Bombing last thursday, which killed 50 and left 700 dead, Tourism body Visit London is reporting that tourism in London is quickly returning to normal.

In a statement issued yesterday (12 July), VisitLondon said: “Life in London is quickly returning to normal after last week’s tragic attacks on the city. We want to assure people that London is very much open for business.”

Nearlt 90% of the london underground is back up and running, although certain lines are still suspended. Leisure industry experst have begun to assess the extent of the damage to the capitals tourism industry.

The hospitality sector was rocked by a number of media reports alleging that certain hotel groups had tripled room prices as people stranded in London in the aftermath of the bombings sought accommodation.

A spokesperson for Premier Travel Inns, which was named in one newspaper report, said: “We would like to confirm that Premier Travel Inn follows a policy of consistent pricing. We do not raise prices in response to incidents like those experienced on 7 July and prices at Premier’s 3,000 central London rooms were unchanged that night. Our primary concern was to look after guests and help those affected by the situation.”

Echoing the sentiments of many within the attractions sector, a spokesperson for the Tussauds Group said: “Thursday 7 July was a tragic day for those many people directly impacted by the atrocity, their families, and London as a whole.

“But, we hope and believe, that while there will of course be some impact on all London businesses and leisure attractions, this will be short term.

“In Madame Tussauds’ case, as might be imagined, we experienced a drop in expected visitor numbers last Thursday and Friday, but this improved greatly over the weekend, and we are confident that numbers will recover quickly.”

The bombings happened last Thursday, (July 7) with three explosions reported on the London Underground and one on a packed commuter bus.