Britain’s promised influx of visitors this July and August is not expected to have the bumper effect on UK accommodation businesses that many owners were hoping for, according to results from the latest TripAdvisor Industry Index.

When asked if Britain’s time on the world stage this summer would have any lasting effect on business, over half of respondents (58%) of the 2,500 surveyed stated it would have no effect.

A third of respondents (35%) were more positive, saying there would be either a short-term or long-term positive effect.

One disillusioned hotelier cited “the negative impact of the Olympic games” as this year’s worst surprise for business. “The Olympics has made Summer Trading difficult - overseas custom is down significantly on last year” said another frustrated respondent, while a third owner said, “Olympics has been a non event for occupancy!”

The survey also also revealed that accommodation owners have become more positive about the economic crisis during the first half of 2012 with 27 percent of respondents stating that they believe the economy will improve during the remainder of the year.

Seventy-nine percent of respondents describe their business as profitable or very profitable in the past six months, making UK accommodations the third most profitable across Europe, behind Turkey and Germany.

One delighted respondent listed the rise in profitability as the best surprise for business in 2012, stating, “Our business has grown some 30% over the last 6 months compared to the same 6 months last year.”

Meanwhile, the Euro crisis has had a devastating effect on the economies of many countries in continental Europe, but UK hospitality businesses are also feeling the crunch.

“The TripAdvisor Industry Index underscores the current global economic climate, as hoteliers in North America, Asia-Pacific and Latin America are all approximately twice as likely to report being profitable in the last six months than hoteliers in the EMEA region,” said Christine Petersen, President, TripAdvisor for Business.

“This trend is also reflected in the global economic outlook; over one quarter of respondents from the EMEA region think that the economy will deteriorate, making them less optimistic than any other region.”

Overall, 87 percent of respondents believe the Euro debt crisis will have an impact on their businesses over the next six months, with one hotelier explaining, “We rely almost entirely on guests from Germany and Holland. We have seen a noticeable drop in visitor numbers from those countries and Europe as a whole.”

Of those accommodation owners that believe their businesses will be affected, 29 percent feel that the impact will be major with one frustrated owner saying, “The Euro crisis has increased the cost and deterred European visitors. The uncertainty in Holland has almost wiped out all of our Dutch tourists.”