British tourism is now under seige

The biggest victim of the rioting that has gripped London the past few days appears to be British tourism.

Thouands of people have canceled their holidays in the British capital in the last 48 hours and the long-term effects of this public disorder may actually cause some people to change their plans of attending next summer's London Olympics.

The riots could not have come at a worse time for British Tourism, which just a few weeks ago launched their "one year out from the 2012 London Summer Olympics campaign" and boasted that London is one of the "safest" places to travel.

As British Prime Minister David Cameron calls out more police to deal with the growing disturbances, British tourism officials are fanning out around the world to reassure people that London will have everything under control by the time the first athletes start arriving next July. To make matters worse, overnight the riots spread to other British cities and now there is fear the government may have to call out troops to deal with the disturbances.

The image of Britain as a safe tourist destination may take longer than a year to repair.

Mary Rance, CEO of UKInbound, was quoted today as saying:  "The riots of the past few days, particularly in London, are most unfortunate for the global image of the U.K. – 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 U.K. tourism industry, work hard to put things in context."

With unemployment rising in the U.K. and the government introducing harsh economic measures to deal with the country's growing debt problems, the situation may only get worse over the next while. That's not good for British tourism in the short or long term.