London & Partners expects London to recover “very quickly” from unrest seen over the past few days.

However, the official promotional agency for London said it was still too early to anticipate what impact the violence seen in a number of boroughs would have on visitor numbers.

“It is currently too early to anticipate the effect on tourism but we are monitoring the situation and we will work with the industry to respond to specific issues as they arise,” read a statement from the organisation.

“Past experience tells us that London recovers from such events and we will focus on recovery activity as soon as it is viable to do so.”

London Riots

Rioting spread across the capital for a third night on Monday with an additional 1,500 Metropolitan Police struggling to contain running battles in many areas.

In Hackney 200 officers with dogs battled protestors around Mare Street where police cars were damaged by rioters wielding bins, wood and metal pipes.

Local MP, Diane Abbott, called for a city wide curfew to be considered.

Further south a bus and shop were set alight in Peckham while a number of shops were also ransacked.

Several fires also broke out in Croydon, including one at a large sofa factory which spread to neighbouring buildings and tram lines.

In the east of London 100 people looted a Tesco store in Bethnal Green.

Speaking to Breaking Travel News earlier, Shah Nawaz, general manager, City Inn Express, Hackey, explained the situation on the ground.

“Our hotel is in Hackney, where yesterday there were riots on the streets.

“As for our hotel, we were not disrupted. But guests were afraid and wanted to check-out and go home.

“Now the riots are in the media we have seen a decline in future bookings.

“We are totally empty for the next few weeks.”

Met deputy assistant commissioner, Steven Kavanagh, confirmed “all options were being considered” when asked if the army could be called in earlier.

Home secretary, Teresa May, however, argued “robust policing” would be sufficient to quell the unrest.

Nine police forces from other parts of the country have assisted in providing support to the capital city, as well as the City of London Police and British Transport Police.

More than 400 people have been arrested over the past three days, with 70 charged with offences related to the demonstrations.

Olympic Angle

Mary Rance, chief executive of UKinbound, was also quick to urge caution against hasty judgements.

“The Riots of the past few days, particularly in London, are most unfortunate for the global image of the UK – and not just ahead of the Olympics but for the country’s short term and long term inbound tourism industry.

“With scenes of looting, violence and lawlessness flashing across TV screens across the globe it is absolutely vital that the government and its agencies, as well as the UK tourism industry, work hard to put things in context.

“London is still one of the greatest cities in the World with an enviable record of safety.

“It’s important we stress that these developments are not typical”.