London drops out of US travellers' top 10

The fall in value of the US dollar has been blamed for a slump in demand for travel to London among Americans, according to Cheapflights.

Latest figures from the online travel company show London is no longer in its top-10 of most searched-for destinations. In July 2006, the capital ranked seventh, while last month it dropped to 15th, despite the fact that traffic to the US site, cheapflights.com, has increased significantly in that time.

A year ago, the dollar was around 1.84 to the pound. Last month, the exchange rate was over $2 to the pound.

Cheapflights group managing director Chris Cuddy said: "London is a perennial favourite destination for US citizens, however the unfavourable exchange rate has made the UK an expensive choice as the current comparative rankings clearly show." By Lisa James

Published: 21.8.2007