Travelers throughout the world continue to grapple with horrifying scenes of terror that pepper the globe.
One question they will continue to answer is whether to travel at all in the foreseeable future. A second is whether that trip will feature London in some form.
While the former has to be answered in the affirmative-travel remains a transformative and experience right to anyone with a passport. The latter question is only just getting some clarity.
CNN Money points to a study from research firm Euromonitor that looked at the tourism impact three terror attacks might have on the United Kingdom over the travel season. It believes 285,000 potential travelers will think carefully about their travel plans and decide against visiting the country.
It follows that number with a sobering thought: "demand will only fully recover by 2020."
This is a country that has had to deal with tragedy after tragedy in a remarkably short time frame.
Four people died after a terrorist attack near the country's Parliament back in March. At the time, travel agents were optimistic that travelers would continue to visit while some saw a real shift in their clients.
Travel agent Margie Lenau stated to Travel Pulse's Lisa Iannucci at the time: "I have not booked a vacation to London in a while, although Europe is not out of the question nor is Ireland. My clients tend to want to stay away from London and wait and see what will happen."
Paul Wiseman, President at Trafalgar, saw things differently: "The sentiment of strength in the face of adversity is absolute and we have had no negative reaction whatsoever from our agents, from our customers booked to travel or our customers in the UK at this time. We have had fantastic positive booking days all of this week and from what we can see there has been zero impact for Britain which I have relayed to the Visit Britain office in New York today."
An explosion at Manchester Arena in May claimed the lives of 22 people, many of whom were young fans of Ariana Grande.
Greg Antonelle, managing director of Mickey Travel, LLC., remained steadfast and explained to Iannucci after that incident: "There is no fear to travel to England, Europe or anywhere else for that matter. Sadly, we live in a world where this tragedy can occur anywhere. If it wasn't in Manchester, it could have been in New York City, Rome or Barcelona. If it didn't happen at a concert, it could have happened at a soccer match, movie premiere or at a political rally. Nobody we communicated with had any ideas of canceling their trip, and the prevailing thoughts were that they would be vigilant and move forward with excitement for their vacations."
Then a string of attacks played out across London on Saturday, starting near its famed Borough Market.
CNN Money quotes Henry Harteveldt, an independent travel analyst, who believes travelers are now wavering when it comes to the U.K.: "Three terrible attacks in three months have created serious damage to the U.K.'s brand and image as a travel destination. Travelers may love the U.K., but I believe a fair number of them will likely love the country from afar, at least this summer."
[READMORE]READ MORE: The Most Useful Travel Apps [/READMORE]
CNN Money looks at Paris and its own November 2015 terror attacks: "Research from travel intelligence firm ForwardKeys showed international arrivals to Paris dropped 12% over the three to four months following the deadly attack. More than a year on, the city's tourism industry still has not recovered in full."
Paris regional tourism committee, however, did note that hotel reservations saw an increase to close out the year in a report this February. Travelers will most definitely return to the United Kingdom-as they have in Paris and as they should.
For the moment, however, it would seem travelers are taking a time out on this particular part of Europe.
Topics From This Article to Explore
