London notes: American tourists abandoning the city

I've been in London not much more than an hour and I've already spent $61.74.

The breakdown went something like this:

• $31.62 -- Stansted Express from Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Station (one way, 45 minutes)
• $24.18 -- Oyster Card purchase for London Underground, plus $10 in ride credit (good for 5-8 rides on Underground)
• $5.95 -- One pint of bitter at the pub where I now write this

It's not news that London is expensive. Gadling's recently departed blogger extraordinaire Iva said as much in her dispatches from the British capital earlier this year.

Still, the sheer expense of doing anything in London beyond strolling through museums is enough to make you think twice about visiting.

For me, this is a shame, this slight anxiety I get before every trip here, knowing as I do that I am going to part with some serious cash. London is a city I want to keep within my steady European rotation, a place with which I've long had an affiliation: I lived here for three years as a kid; it's the birthplace of my brother; some of my earliest experiences as a traveler were had rediscovering the city as an adult.

According to the Associated Press, Americans in general are abandoning Britain these days, largely due to the weak dollar, which has made quick hops over the pond more costly than ever.

The AP says American tourists numbers are down 120,000 from this time last year. That's not an insignificant number: The British government estimates that those lower numbers translates to about $650 million in lost revenue.

I should point out that it's not just Americans who are thinking twice about London and the rest of the UK. The British government says overall tourist numbers are down 5 percent in the last year.

Right now 1 GBP is worth about $1.85.

I would continue my lament, but my friend is currently looking through the Internet and asking my thoughts for a restaurant tonight. I can almost hear my wallet now, protesting...

Filed under: United Kingdom