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Strong dollar pounds London tourism to new low
Published on Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 13:26, Updated on Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 13:36 in 
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London: The number of visitors to London are down this year. But that could be about to change. And as it's all thanks to the stock market collapse and the lure of the strong dollar.
Whether it’s the West End theatres, celebrity watching or the royal family, London is the most visited city in Europe. Tourists come to gawk; business people come to do deals. Some even come to this pricey place to go shopping.
London has so much to offer with many different hooks to grab tourists. One them being Harrods the store says its the capital's third most visited attraction.
In 2007 overseas visitors spent some $16 billion in London. Though visits are down since 2006, they were expected to fall by nearly 3 per cent this year.
In the first quarter alone this year the number of North American visitors dropped nearly by 10 per cent. But that was before the stock market collapse in early October and before the American dollar soared in value against the British pound.
Meanwhile, London's hotels are reporting decent enough bookings, but there has been an impact at the higher end.
Some five thousand extra Americans were in London recently when their style of football graced Wembley stadium.
Americans shell out around $3 billion dollars annually in London more than visitors from France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
This is not only the artistic capital of the world, but it's also become a place where you can get more bang for your buck than you have in the past.
The stronger US dollar could just be the engine to keep London’s economy turning.
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