‘A quarter of adults put off from visiting London’

The terrorist attacks and attempted bombings in London are deterring visitors to the capital, new research shows.

More than a quarter (26%) of adults in Britain, France and Germany say they have been put off from visiting or travelling in London following the bombings on July 7 and the attempted attacks on July 21.

The CNN/TIME poll conducted by market research firm TNS between July 26-31 reveals that almost a third of those interviewed in Britain (31%) and France (32%) have been put off from visiting London following the bombings, compared with just one in five (20%) in Germany. 

In all three countries, a significantly higher proportion of women than men said they were put off from going to, or travelling in, the UK capital – 40% women compared with 21% in Britain, 37% versus 26% in France and 27% 12% in Germany.

The poll of 1,000 people in each country also reveals that people in Britain are considerably more likely to be put off using public transport as a result of security fears. Some 21% of respondents in Britain – rising to 33% among respondents from the Greater London area – agreed that security fears had put them off using public transport, compared with just 14% in France and 8% in Germany.

A majority of people across all three countries would be prepared to accept some degree of added inconvenience in return for tighter security on trains and buses in the future. This was highest in Britain, with 71% of respondents saying they would be prepared to accept either delays and longer journey times or higher travel costs or both, compared with 49% in France.

A TNS spokesman said: “In the immediate aftermath of the London bombings, it is not surprising that a significant proportion of people – not only in Britain but also in France and Germany – have been deterred from visiting London or travelling around the city.

“At the same time, the bombings have clearly made many people – particularly in Britain – wary about travelling on public transport in case there are any further attempts to bomb similar targets in other parts of Europe.

“People in Britain also seem to be generally supportive of the introduction of additional measures on trains and buses to make them safer, even if this meant increased journey times or increases in the price of tickets to cover the additional costs involved.

“The bombs in London – together with those in Madrid in 2004 – have graphically demonstrated the vulnerability of public transport networks to terrorist attacks, and users of those services are realising that tighter measures need to be put in place to guard their safety in the future.”

Report by Phil Davies 

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