Eurostar sees further growth in leisure travel
An increase in leisure travel boosted Eurostar’s traffic by 2% in the first half of the year.
However, business travel was flat in the first quarter and weakened in the second as the number of public holidays and the eurozone crisis impacted on businesses’ travel plans, so revenues were up only 1% to £425m.
Chief executive Nicolas Petrovic said: "We have delivered a resilient performance in the first half of the year despite the difficult economic climate. Leisure bookings have continued to grow and we have seen good take-up for travel to London over the summer period. During the Queen’s Jubilee we had one of our busiest weekends on record
"Whilst leisure sales have held up over the last six months, there is no doubt that corporate clients and business travellers, particularly in the financial services industry, are feeling the squeeze and are cutting back on their travel budgets as they adapt to the economic environment.
"The combination of economic pressures and the London 2012 Games has meant that we are seeing different travel patterns this year. The traditional European summer close-down for business is kicking in earlier as all eyes turn to the Olympic celebrations in London."
The number of passegers who originated from outside Europe grew by 11% in the first half of 2012 compared to last year. Eurostar said this was driven in part by a strong increase in the number of passengers originating from the US and the Far East combining a European tour with a visit to the Olympics.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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