- Wednesday 22 May 2013
- My Account
- Logout
- Register
- Login
- News
-
Voices
-
Find by writer
- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
- Rebecca Armstrong
- Memphis Barker
- Terence Blacker
- Chris Blackhurst
- David Blanchflower
- Archie Bland
- Ian Burrell
- Andrew Buncombe
- Ben Chu
- Patrick Cockburn
- Laura Davis
- Mary Dejevsky
- Grace Dent
- Robert Fisk
- Andrew Grice
- Stefano Hatfield
- Philip Hensher
- Ian Herbert
- Howard Jacobson
- Ellen E Jones
- Alice Jones
- Owen Jones
- Simon Kelner
- Dominic Lawson
- Donald Macintyre
- Lisa Markwell
- Comment
- Campaigns
- Debate
- Editorials
- Letters
- IV Drip
- Archive
- Our Voices
- Commentators
- Columnists
- Democracy 2015
- IV Drip Archive
-
Find by writer
- Sport
- Tech
- Life
- Property
- Arts & Ents
- Travel
- Money
- IndyBest
- Blogs
- Student
Thursday 2 August 2012
Leading article: Now is the time to visit London
Even as Stratford – home of the Olympic Park – is booming, the West End is, by London standards at least, all but deserted. For all that Londoners are glorying in the novelty of finding a seat on the Underground and not having to book ahead for a table at the capital's more popular restaurants, dark warnings of another economic hit are gaining in volume. The number of shoppers was down by an economically unhelpful 11 per cent last weekend, restaurateurs are bemoaning turnover at less than half of usual levels, and theatre bookings are set to fall by around a third.
Why the surprise, though? That there should be fewer non-Olympic tourists visiting the capital is entirely predictable. Any notion that visitors would choose to pay inflated travel costs and overblown hotel bills without going to the Games themselves was never terribly realistic. Indeed, the lesson from previous Olympiads is much the same. Add in the almost hysterical warnings about the likely collapse of London's transport network, and the capital's quiet streets were entirely to be expected.
With so many visitors staying away – the 100,000 attending the Games each day is nowhere near the usual daily influx of 300,000 – and many Londoners, unsurprisingly, choosing to stay in and watch the action on television, even the boost from ticket sales is unlikely to balance the short-term hit to the capital's economy. It would be as well not to be too gloomy, however; over the longer term, the picture is rather brighter. Even if the Government's hope of £13bn worth of Games-related deals proves over-optimistic, it is not unreasonable to expect some kind of Olympic bounce. And every glorious sporting backdrop of Hampton Court Palace or the spectacular City skyline cannot but be an advert for Britain as a tourist destination.
And in the meantime, such unseasonal calm must surely be an invitation for the rest of us – not just Londoners, but visitors from across Britain – to get out there and enjoy the VIP treatment of a capital wonderfully free from the usual crowds. Even better, despite all the dire prognoses, the Tube seems, so far, to be bearing up just fine.
-
Letters: Of course big business loves the EU
-
The so-called 'Robin Hood Tax' will rob pensioners and small businesses not just bankers
-
Ed Miliband is staring at an open goal and I know just the pair of strikers to win it for him
-
Never fall ill at a weekend - our out-of-hours health service is a disgrace
-
Poll: Does the fact that Boris Johnson has a love child change your opinion of the Mayor?
-
Internet porn is no kind of education, but LOLcats and Tumblr (almost) make up for it
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Related Articles
-
Jeremy Hunt admits Olympic Games have put off London's tourists
-
An udder disaster? The Apprentice hopefuls cream off profit in milkshake task
-
Which European city will offer the best value for a high-season break at the end of August?
-
Last night's viewing - Town with Nicholas Crane, BBC2; Frankie, BBC1
Get the best in opinion from Independent Voices, straight to your inbox every Thursday lunchtime.
Subscribe
iJobs General
Senior IP Associate / Partner - Manchester
Excellent Salary Package - £60K to £120K: Austen Lloyd: We have an exciting op...
Java Developer
£200 - £250 per day: Progressive Recruitment: Java Developer - Urgent Requirem...
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ARCHITECT, SAP
£70000 - £95000 per annum + Bonus, flexible working hours, remote work: Progre...
SAP BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SENIOR CONSULTANT
£50000 - £56000 per annum + Benefits package, flexible working hours: Progress...
Day In a Page
Why clubs are keen to take a stand
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City
