The outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK has not deterred Gulf travelers from visiting Britain, which still rates as one of their top holiday destinations despite the country experiencing massive losses from the European and US markets, reported the Gulf News on Tuesday.
According to figures released by the British Tourist Authority, travelers from the Gulf have not panicked about the outbreak and there has even been a slight increase in tourism traffic.
Sandie Dawe, Director of Corporate Communications for the British Tourist Authority, said scare-mongering and ignorance about the disease were the main causes of UK’s losses due to the disease.
"Basically $2.5 billion in revenue has been lost from the overseas visitors market, which usually totals around $13 billion annually,” he told the paper. "One of the main problems has been misleading information because a lot of people don't understand that this outbreak only affects animals."
But Gulf tourists have been more discerning, he told the paper – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
