Hotels and restaurants in London actually lost money during the Olympics this summer

Tourism figures released this week indicate that Britain is well-placed to build on encouraging inbound Olympic visitors, but a post-Games review by foodservice consultancy Horizons shows that the event actually came at a big cost for hotels, restaurants and pubs.

September’s International Passenger Survey issued by the Office for National Statistics reveals that visitor numbers were up by 1 per cent (2.63m) and that visitor spending reached a record £1.9bn (an increase of 17 per cent); overseas visitor spend in the UK is now 5 per cent higher than in the first nine months of 2011.