European Tour Operators Cancel Trips
I shouldn't need to remind people on here of the potential ramifications of this on our industry...
[quote]Several European tour operators say they have cancelled trips to the United States following the deadly attacks in New York and Washington.
The French union that represents travel agencies, SNAV, issued a statement advising its members to suspend ticket sales to the United States.
Europe's leading tour operator, the German company Preussag, says it has cancelled all of its flights to the United States until Friday while the Swiss tour operator Kuoni says it has scrapped flights until at least Sunday.
The head of the Paris-based Visit USA Committee, Michel-Yves Labbe, says he fears the attacks will have serious repercussions on the tourism industry in the short term.
"In the next three months, less people will want to travel to the US," he said.
Mr Labbe predicts however the fear sparked by the attacks will subside.
"People will head back there quickly enough because the Americans will do what is necessary in terms of security," he said.
He says other destinations are also likely to be affected by Tuesday's attacks, including the Middle East and Asia.
"The tourism industry is by nature very fragile," he said. "Already there are cancellation requests for scheduled trips mainly to the Middle East but also to Asia."
New York, which is the number one destination for foreign visitors to the United States, last year had a record 37.4 million tourists, 6.8 million of them from overseas, according to official figures.
The United States as a whole was expecting to welcome 52.9 million visitors this year, but industry professionals say that figure may have to be revised downwards in light of Tuesday's attacks.[quote]