Click to play videoLondon: Sharon Bamford heads the UK-India Business Council in London. She is a frequent business traveller to India and she is all set to visit again in January. The Mumbai terror attacks have not deterred her.
Sharon says, "The terror attacks won't stop me and I don't think it will stop British businesses. We will just be more alert and more sensitive like we were after the London bombings."
The travel industry though, is not too optimistic. First the financial meltdown and then the Mumbai attacks have hit the industry hard. Immediately after the attacks, most business travellers postponed their trips and most holidaymakers simply cancelled bookings.
Ruby Wadhwa who heads Prime Travels in UK says, "We have had 50 per cent of our travellers cancelling and others have put their plans on hold for the time being."
Last year, more than 5 million foreigners travelled to India and the sector boasted an annual growth of over 14 per cent. With the peak season already underway, this year the numbers will be lower.
First the recession and now the terror attacks on Mumbai, it's been a double blow for the travel and tourism sector. Last year more than 7.5 lakh Britons travelled to India, but this year that number will be much, much lower even though Britain's Foreign Office changed its travel advisory to Mumbai, back to normal this week.
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