Two thirds of tourism businesses in the UK suffered during the Olympics with bookings not seeing resurgence until next year, a new survey has revealed.
UKinbound’s Business Barometer found its members had not seen a boost in bookings for the end of 2012 but expected the situation to pick up in 2013 and beyond.
While the outbound industry saw bookings increase once the games are over, around half of the inbound industry is concerned APD and VAT is preventing foreigners visiting the UK and therefore damaging the tourism legacy of the Olympics.
“It is encouraging to see that members have not let this year’s disappointing visitor figures dampen their optimism for the inbound tourism industry for 2013. However, this is most definitely set against a cautious backdrop of global economic turbulence and government economic strategy, particularly VAT and APD,” said Mary Rance, chief executive at UKinbound.
“Optimism in the industry is delicate and dependent on the Government’s treatment of barriers to entry and therefore it would be good to see action in areas where there has only been stagnation thus far,” she added.