In message , at
18:14:49 on Fri, 30 Mar 2012, Arthur Figgis
remarked:
On 30/03/2012 17:16, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 15:32:47 on Fri, 30
Mar 2012, Graeme Wall remarked:
The figures I saw were 20%, it wasn't clear whether that was absolute
or another 20% over and above those who would normally go abroad at
that time.

ABTA's report said:

"Escaping the crowds

Clearly we are not all sports lovers, 12% of Brits say they are
intending to go abroad specifically to avoid the Games and 9% are
looking to go on holiday somewhere in the UK free from Olympics fever.
The older generation appears to be the least keen on staying in the UK;
with 22% of the over 65s intending to head overseas to avoid the Games
and 18% of 55-64 year olds.

Londoners most likely to change plans

Perhaps unsurprisingly, over a quarter (28%) of Londoners are
considering changing their holiday plans due to the Olympics. Nearly 50%
say they will take time off throughout the games and 77% say they will
be staying in the Capital during the two weeks.

Do such figures have any credibility whatsoever?

Have you ever been involved in market research? They don't just pull
numbers out of a hat. Nor would they claim that a figure like "22%" is
accurate between 21.9% and 22.1%, but 22% is an awful lot of people
(about 15 million) and needs to be taken seriously.

I intend to be taking my private jet to my own tropical island, but I'm
having some slight problems with an intermediate stage in this plan.

And even so, "9% are looking to go on holiday somewhere in the UK free
from Olympics fever." That somewhere could include London, which
wouldn't really help the transport situation...

In this context the whole of London is tarred with "Olympic Fever", as
are several other locations, like Weymouth.
--
Roland Perry