JK2006 wrote:
boost to our country
boost to our country ????
Where have you been, JK ?
Sales down everywhere ... tourism down .... overseas visitors down .... even taxi drivers are complaining !
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Helen Dickinson, head of retail at professional services firm KPMG, said July was a lacklustre month."Central London's retailers are already being hit hard by shoppers actively avoiding the capital. It's likely that any blip of benefit the Games bring will be short-lived," she added.
Last week David Cameron urged people to "come back into the capital" following claims that the 2012 Games has turned London into a "ghost town".John Lewis, an Olympic sponsor, said sales at its flagship Oxford Street store dropped 8.7% in the week to July 28, while Next said its London stores would "suffer" at the hands of the Olympics.
news.sky.com/story/969605/olympic-retail...t-claim-wide-of-mark
The Olympics have turned London into a "ghost town" and hit profits as tourists focus on the Games, according to businesses.Hotels, West End theatres and tour companies have reported a slump, with one theatre chief saying the Olympics are "bleeding" her business.There are also claims of a similar effect at the Olympic sites outside the capital, with reports that Weymouth - where sailing is located - has been badly hit.
The Games have attracted up to 100,000 visitors a day to London but the European Tour Operators Association says this is behind the normal summer peak of 300,000.
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, which represents London's major museums including the British Museum and Tower of London, says it has seen a 30-35% fall in attendance in the last two weeks, compared with last year.
Research by Hotels.com says that rates during the Olympics had fallen by about 25% in a two-week period in June.Nick Palan, managing director of open-top bus tour company Golden Tours, said: "It's totally destroyed the market for us this summer. The hotels put up prices heavily earlier in the year. We're down by over 20%."
Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said cab drivers had been hit hard. Mr McNamara added: "Anecdotally our business is down by about 20-40% depending on the time of day.
Tom Jenkins, executive director of the European Tour Operators Association, told the FT: "We normally have about 300,000 foreign and 800,000 domestic visitors every day. These numbers are currently dramatically down on last year. How far down will be determined by how long TfL maintains the 'don't come into London' campaign."
news.sky.com/story/967156/olympics-hammer-london-tourist-trade
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Was it worth the cost of 240 new hospitals ?
Never in a million years
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