Culture secretary says people need to take a longer view after claims the Games have turned the capital into a 'ghost town'
Having the Olympic Games in London is "the best possible gift you could ask for" if you run a tourism business, the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has said.
The cabinet minister said people needed to take a longer-term view after claims that the 2012 Games have turned the capital into a "ghost town", with commuters and non-Olympic tourists avoiding the city.
After figures showed that footfall in the theatrical and shopping focal point of the West End was down almost 5% and the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, admitted that the Games were having a "patchy" effect on some businesses, Hunt told ITV's Daybreak that the Olympics had given the city a global "cachet" that would boost long-term tourism.
"I think we have to take a slightly longer-term view on this. If you have a business in London, particularly a tourism business – a theatre or restaurant or hotel – then having the Olympics in London is the best possible gift you could ask for because that has given London a profile on a global stage," he said.
"London is already a well-known city. It has become absolutely iconic because of these Games and that opening ceremony has given London a cachet that makes people really want to be here and come here.
"We have a plan to get 4 million additional tourists here over the next four years. It may be a bit up and down over the next few weeks but it is going to be terrific for London businesses."
Transport for London has abandoned recorded warnings from Johnson about expected congestion, blamed by some businesses for scaring people away from the city centre.
The mayor insisted on Wednesday that businesses which had engaged with the Games were prospering, saying: "What's happening is people are having a great time and those who are looking to engage with the Games are doing great business."
But figures from Experian suggested that footfall on Monday and Tuesday of this week was down 9.6% compared with last year in east London stores and 4.53% in the West End.
The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association said cab drivers had been hit hard, with business down by between 20% and 40%.
Hunt also said Locog, the London 2012 organising committee, had already managed to claim almost 7,000 tickets for unfilled corporate seats back from organisations linked with the Games.
A total of 3,000 tickets were clawed back and sold online on Monday this week and a further 3,800 the following day, he said.
"We are getting as many back as we possibly can because it does break your heart to see an empty seat," he said.
"There are still a few but the problem is a lot better than it was a few days ago."
He added that customers having trouble buying available tickets on the official website should keep trying.
Hunt said: "I think that is probably because there is just so much demand and there are so many people going onto the website at the same time.
"But what I would say to people is keep looking because every day as soon as we get more seats we put them up on that website, and we want to get as many people as possible in to see these really, really iconic moments."