As Rosbalt notes, the situation is aggravated by the fact that a certain downturn in business had emerged earlier due to the epidemic of Asian pneumonia and the war in Iraq. Several weeks ago, a campaign to attract tourists valued at 3.8 million pounds sterling was launched in London, but recent events are reducing its effectiveness.
The recently created British tourism support association VisitBritain said it had expected such an effect from anti-terrorist measures and hopes to overcome the negative trend by putting forward new initiatives on the tourism market. A representative of the association said that the Tourism Industry Emergency Responce Group - an advisory body established after September 11, 2001 - will meet to discuss the current situation in the near future. Among the measures to be taken, there will probably be a large-scale advertising campaign aimed at US citizens using mass media, mail, and the Internet. VisitBritain's public relations representative Orla Farren also assured potential tourists that England and London remain completely safe places.