World Travel & Tourism Council Issues Estimate of London Bombing Impact

Hospitality Net - Industry News : "World Travel & Tourism Council Issues Estimate of London Bombing Impact"

The Committee commended the highly efficient reaction of the rescue services and underscored the seriousness with which the UK authorities had prepared for such an event. The Committee unanimously agreed that early indications showed that the impact on the UK"s Travel & Tourism industry would be limited. Travel & Tourism companies have recovered their stock value within 24 hours of the attacks, reflecting the confidence in the industry.

The Committee concluded that:

The intensity of the event"s affect on international arrivals, residents" Travel & Tourism consumption confidence and Business Travel confidence should be minor.
The duration of the event"s affect on International arrivals, residents" Travel & Tourism consumption confidence and Business Travel confidence should be limited.
The geographical reach of the event should be limited to the UK.
The damage to the Travel & Tourism infrastructure was none.
The UK government spending response to the event should and would be strong.


In light of these factors, the WTTC Crisis Event Forecasting Model developed by Oxford Economic Forecasting was engaged for the first time since it"s launch at the WTTC Global Tourism Summit in Delhi in May 2005. The Crisis Event Forecasting Model suggested that in 2005:

UK visitor arrivals may decline by approximately 588,000 from previously forecast levels (30,947,368), a decline of 1.9 per cent.
Personal Travel & Tourism by UK residents may decline by GBP2.3 billion, a loss of 2.3 per cent from previously forecast levels (GBP102 billion).
Business Travel & Tourism by UK companies may decline by GBP523 million, representing a loss of 2.3 per cent previously forecast levels (GBP 22.7 billion).
Government Travel & Tourism expenditures may increase* by GBP470 million, representing a gain of 6.3 per cent over previous forecast levels (GBP 12.6 billion).
Visitor Exports may decrease 1.9 per cent or GBP386 million from previously forecast levels (GBP 34.9 billion).
Travel & Tourism Industry GDP may decrease 2.0 per cent or GBP927 million from previously forecast levels (GBP46.8 billion).
Travel & Tourism Economy GDP may decrease 1.5 per cent or GBP1.9 billion from previously forecast levels (GBP122.5 billion)
Travel & Tourism Industry employment may shrink by 0.49 per cent.
Travel & Tourism Economy employment may reduce by 0.55 per cent."