Tourism to Britain up despite London bombs

Tourists entering Britain rose nearly three percent in August on a year earlier, official figures showed on Friday, in a sign July London bombings have not deterred visits to the country.
The Office for National Statistics said that 3.25 million people visited Britain in August, up 2.8 percent on the year.
Many commentators had assumed that the bomb attacks in London on July 7 which killed more than 50 people would hurt tourism, particularly to the capital.
But July's figures also showed no discernible impact, with visits to Britain actually up 7 percent on the year.Visitors from North America in August soared 15 percent on the year.
But Britons' trips abroad fell 2.9 percent on the year in the key holiday month of August, perhaps in response to consumers tightening their belts as they grapple with soaring fuel and petrol bills.
The decline was led by a 4.2 percent drop in visits to Western Europe.