Having your phone stolen is devastating enough. But for it to happen while you’re on holiday, when you need it for everything from map navigation to scanning theatre tickets, is about as bad as it gets. Little wonder that the boss of one of London’s largest hotel groups, PPHE Hotels, has warned that the epidemic is putting tourists off making the trip in the first place.
Still, the easyHotel poll does reveal one small silver lining – of sorts – for the beleaguered capital. It turns out that 58 per cent of non-Londoners say they would still like to visit the city if they knew they wouldn’t be left out of pocket afterwards. On that front, many Londoners may find themselves in agreement.
There you go then, Sir Sadiq Khan: all you need to do to boost domestic tourism is make the city more affordable, whether that’s tackling rip-off ticket prices or astronomical hotel costs. It might not be an easy task, admittedly, but you won’t be short of places to start.