John Gann sees economic trends changing the UK travel landscape for locals and tourists alike

Virtual Tours of London

London is better value at last


Thanks to the credit crunch, London's leisure industry is keener than ever to get you business and this has translated into lower prices throughtout the city. Hoteliers are slashing room rates in order to pull in the customers whilst bars & restaurants, already facing plenty of competition, are offering excellent deals particularly if you are willing to drink and/or eat outside of the traditional times of day. Ever lengthening Happy Hours at London's bars, pubs & clubs may not be ideal for local residents but it does mean that a binge drinking bonanza is on offer for those who want to paint the town red but on a budget!

Things are particularly looking up for overseas tourists visiting London. Thanks to the plunging value of the pound sterling, Eurozone & American visitors are seeing their holiday cash go at least 20% further than this time last year. At one point, when the pound dropped to $1.40 earlier this year, London slid to 22nd most expensive city in the world. With Oslo in Norway coming out as the most expensive city in recent surveys and other expensive cities including Zurich, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo and New York, there is no better time for overseas visitor to be coming to London and/or the UK.

One final point to consider if you are planning on making the most of affordable London... don't forget to do your reaearch online. Websites like Lastminute.com offer reduced price theatre tickets, cheap hotel rooms, restaurant deals and all sorts of other discounted events and things to do, so be sure to check online before you book anything at full face value!