It now seems that some new figures from the Office of National Statistics, are showing that the Olympics may not offer the boost in tourism that London is hoping for. The figures go on to show a 10 percent fall in visits to the UK by foreign tourists. Thus, the Olympics, which London was hoping would help boost their tourism during a time of great need, may not be able to help shoot life back into the economy.

The Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Don Foster, said that the government had originally predicted £2 billion tourism boost due to hosting the Olympics. However, this prediction has now been thrown head first into doubt due to the new figures that were released by the Office of National Statistics. These figures show that 3.3 million fewer people actually visited the UK this year than last year. This new stats have now crushed any hope that the weak pound would bring in more tourists.

Don Foster went on to say that the government has failed to take tourism seriously. Cutting the budget of the body that is responsible for marketing the UK overseas is proof of that. Now the country is having to deal with the results of that choice.

Countries all over the world have been trying to come up with new ways to get overseas travelers to visit them. However, due to the current recession, many places are faced with the fact that many people just aren’t traveling right now. London was hoping that the Olympics could change that; however, these stats could prove otherwise.