US travellers deterred by European terror warning

Nearly one fifth of US travellers have cancelled plans to visit Europe following recent warnings of an increased threat from terrorism, according to a new poll.

By Oliver Smith

More than half claim that the warnings have put them off travelling to Europe.

Last week the US State Department warned its citizens of “the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure” in European cities.

Similar warnings were issued by the Foreign Office and by the French, Swedish and Japanese governments.

The survey of 500 US citizens was carried out between October 4 and 6 by the website OneNewsPage.com. Nineteen per cent of respondents said they had "actually cancelled" travel plans because of the warnings, 52 per cent said the warnings had deterred them from visiting Europe, while 54 per cent said their fear of terrorism had increased during the last year.

Dr Marc Pinter-Krainer, the CEO of OneNewsPage, said that the impact on tourism “could be very damaging”.

Last week Tom Jenkins, the executive director of the European Tour Operators Association, criticised the warnings, and suggested that they would “add to the hysteria and compound the damage al-Qaeda or other groups are trying to inflict”.

Meanwhile, Skyscanner, the price-comparison website, has already reported a decline in searches for flights. It said that searches made last week by US residents for flights to Britain, Germany and France had fallen respectively by 35 per cent, 40 per cent and 42 per cent compared with the previous week.

Abta, the travel association, suggested that although British travellers would respond as phlegmatically as usual, the warnings might deter some Americans from visiting Europe.