Visit London - (Travel Daily News)

No impact for London`s tourism despite terrorist attacks

Monday, July 02, 2007

The new incidents in Central London started a new round of terrorist attacks in Britain but tourism authorities in the area are expressing no fear for the industry. James Bidwell, Visit London Chief Executive, said in a statement that it`s too early to tell whether these events will have any impact on the tourist industry in London.

He went on to say, We will be keeping a close eye on events over the next few days as the police investigation continues. We know from experience that London`s ability to recover from this type of incident is strong. Even following the events of July 2005, overseas visitor numbers recovered within months and there followed a record year in 2006, with overseas visits up 9.4%.

Visitors to London should not alter their plans, but should take into account advice from the police and the transport authorities. Threats like those we have experienced today are not isolated to London but an issue for many leading cities throughout the world. Experience has shown that visitors are increasingly resistant to letting such incidents prevent them from going about their daily lives.

The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said: Once again the emergency services have served the capital well.

The Metropolitan Police Service have dealt with this with great professionalism. I think we would all want to thank the explosives officers for their bravery in dismantling this device, which will also yield invaluable clues. The ambulance crew who originally alerted the police to this matter showed great vigilance and they deserve the praise of everyone who lives and works in London. The dense network of CCTV coverage now existing in central London will again be extremely important in yielding clues.

I ask all Londoners and visitors to London to co-operate with the police and other agencies so that we can go about our business as safely as possible. These events show that we have to be constantly vigilant, and also that we need to respond calmly.

As the police have made clear the help of the public is going to be essential to completing this investigation. London can help defeat terrorism, which means that all London’s communities have their part to play in dealing with this threat.

Michael Verikios - Monday, July 02, 2007

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