Olympics: No tourist from China and Japan to UK

Some of the Japanese travel companies are not likely to arrange any leisure groups to London during the summer. Several tour operators are to wait for the price range for the hotel rooms.

One travel company said that some Japanese tourists might come to London before or after the games to see the architecture and experience the buzz.

In China, one tour operator complained that  “hotel prices will increase extraordinarily, even in the outskirts of London, and flights to the UK will increase sharply (in price) as well.”

Other travel companies said that the visa system, already onerous for Chinese visitors to the UK, was likely to be even more fraught. “The visa issuing quota will be limited and policy will be very restrictive, and the UK government will control a large number of hotel rooms in advance.”

Another Chinese tour operator said: “We are not focusing on UK traditional leisure travel during the Olympic Games due to sky-high prices in hotels. A lot of clients will choose not to visit the UK during the Olympics, they will choose other destinations instead.” The message is clear: London is in danger of pricing the whole of the UK out of the potential boost that the Olympics can bring to the hospitality, retail, and leisure sectors.  (Sources: http://www.tourexpi.com)