Second Class London Games

A survey by online company WAYN.com (Where Are You Now?), of thousands of travellers, indicates there are widespread negative attitudes about the London 2012 Games, with potential visitors worried about terrorism and prices.

According to the poll, of the 7,500 travellers surveyed, 22 per cent had previously visited a city which has hosted the Olympics and only four per cent said the London Games would be better than other summer Olympics, with 29 per cent saying the 2012 Games would be worse.

But the survey showed that the Games would still be a major tourist attraction for London, with only 16 per cent saying they would be less likely to visit the city during the Olympics and 47 per cent saying they were more likely to come.

The survey also showed that 59 per cent say that despite the high cost of bringing the Games to London the potential benefits justify the expense, and 62 per cent believe London will provide a better visit experience for the Games than Paris, which lost the Games to London.

WAYN co-founder Jerome Touze said, “clearly there is a huge amount of interest in London’s Olympic Games and the event does have the potential to be the biggest visitor attraction ever. However, if that potential is going to be converted into serious visitor numbers, London urgently needs to address the negative perceptions and key concerns highlighted by our survey”.

He added, “it may be that attitudes have been tainted by reports about costs and cutbacks, but the risks associated with London 2012 being considered a second-class event should not be taken lightly. Meanwhile there also needs to be reassurances about containing the threat of terrorism and about containing costs, and last but not least, a major charm offensive to show the friendly face of London”.