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2/11/12
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Issue 49 November/December 2012 £2.75
Fall blamed on Olympics and weather By Christina Eccles
VISITORS to some of Britain’s biggest attractions fell by up to 21.3 per cent this summer, figures have revealed, with experts blaming factors such as bad weather and the London Olympics. London based members of The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions saw an average loss in visitors of 15 per cent during May to August 2012, compared to the same months in 2011, with gardens and leisure the worst hit sector, losing 21.3 per cent. Among the heritage and cathedrals sector, visitor numbers decreased by 20.3 per cent to attractions such as the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. Museums and galleries saw the smallest decline of 13.1 per cent. Chief executive of ALVA Bernard Donoghue said: “In the first couple of weeks of the Olympics, some of the key central London attractions experienced a huge fall of up to 61 per cent in visitor numbers compared to the same weeks last year. Overseas visitors who stayed away from London during the Olympic period and Londoners who avoided the city led to media headlines of
London being described as a ghost town.” According to the research, other parts of the UK were also hit. ALVA members in the rest of England saw an average decline of 4.7 per cent and in Scotland gardens and attractions in rural locations suffered – but museums and galleries in Edinburgh and Glasgow performed well. Bernard added: “These figures from our 43 members, who manage some nearly 2,000 tourist sites and welcome over 100m domestic and overseas visitors each year are definitely sobering reading and show that the summer of 2012 has been a difficult time financially for our most popular and best-loved visitor attractions. “It is our belief that for gardens and outdoor attractions across the UK, the appalling weather during much of the year has led to one of the worst trading periods since 2001 and Foot and Mouth. “For London attractions the Olympic period was one of their worst trading periods in living memory and for visitor attractions the summer is their equivalent of retailers’ Christmas, once lost the business can’t be won back.”
Travelodge reveals its guests’ strangest questions
The popularity of the James Bond films has inspired VisitBritain to launch its biggest ever film tourism campaign. To capitalise on the global fascination with the iconic character – and the release of new Bond movie Skyfall starring Daniel Craig (pictured) – the national tourism agency is undertaking an extensive campaign in over 20 countries to encourage 007 fans to head to Britain on their next holiday. The campaign will include a string of cinema, press and outdoor advertising developed around the slogan “Bond is GREAT Britain”. Full story, Page 3.
BUDGET hotel chain Travelodge has revealed the most peculiar questions its guests have asked over the last 12 months – including “Can my seven penguins stay?” and “Does the water come from the tap?” Annually the group receives more than 200,000 bizarre requests across its 523 hotels, with the list also highlighting a trend for guests wanting to travel with their pets – no matter how unusual the animal is. Stories include: The hotel manager at Travelodge’s Manchester Ancoats hotel being asked for an outside power supply unit to accommodate his refrigeration van, which housed seven penguins, while their owner stayed in the hotel. A guest at Ayr Travelodge asked the hotel team if her beloved Shetland Pony could stay in the room with her. A guest staying in Cardiff Atlantic Wharf asked if it would be ok to have a Boa Constrictor snake in the room – without its tank. In Inverness, a traveller asked staff when the Loch Ness Monster came out so they didn’t miss it.