US restaurants accused of exaggerating effects of terror attacks

The effects of 11 September on US restaurants have been overhyped, the Restaurant 2001 conference heard last week.

Professor Chris Muller of the University of Central Florida, speaking to delegates in London through a video-conferencing link, said the industry was not as bad as was being made out.

He said that although 87,000 jobs in the US tourism industry had been lost as a direct result of the events of 11 September, this was not a significant number when compared with the figure of 11 million people who work in the industry.

Muller added that the restaurants that relied on tourists had been hit hard by the events but said neighbourhood restaurants had seen an increase in business.

He added that restaurant sales in the USA were now either holding their own or increasing, and that the industry as a whole was "pretending things are worse than they really are".