International visitors to Britain plummet

The number of overseas tourist arriving in Britain has plummeted since the 11 September terrorist attacks, according to a new report.

The British Incoming Tour Operators Association (BITOA) said that international tourist arrivals to Britain in September fell by 23% compared with the same month last year.

However, figures also show that tourist numbers were already significantly down on 2000 before the attacks, thanks to other factors such as foot-and-mouth. August was 17% down on 2000 and July 15% down.

The number of forward bookings has also dropped in September, down by 21%.

"This is the biggest one-month fall in tourist arrivals to Britain since the Gulf War and confirms our worst fears that the events in the USA on 11 September are having a catastrophic impact on Britain's inbound tourist industry," said BITOA chief executive Richard Tobias.

Worringly, BITOA predicts that October could be almost as bad. It is forecasting that visitor number will fall from 25 million in 2000 to 20 million in 2001 - costing the industry £2.8b.

However, things could look up again in 2001, Tobias said, with the Commonwealth Games and the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations boosting tourist numbers.