US tourists avoiding London during crunch

The number of high-spending Americans visiting London slumped by almost a third in the wake of the Lehman Brothers collapse.

For October, November and December the total staying in the capital was 428,000, down from 606,000 in 2007.

American bankers and other wealthy business travellers cancelled their visits to London in their droves during last autumn's financial crisis, with a huge knock-on effect for hotels and expensive restaurants.

British Airways has reported that the number of passengers using its Club and First Class cabins is down by as much as 20 per cent on a year ago.
The downturn has so alarmed VisitLondon, the body responsible for promoting tourism, that it has been granted £2 million for a US publicity campaign.

A spokesman said: "I think the recession has hit hardest in America, particularly in terms of the desire to holiday at home or not at all."

However, visits by Europeans are holding up much more strongly, partly fuelled by the weakness of the pound against the euro.

Overall there were 3.4 million visits to London in the final quarter of last year, down nine per cent on 2007.