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The CEO of VisitBritain, Patricia Yates, has revealed that uncertainty in the Middle East caused a \u201creal slowdown\u201d in the number of Australians booking travel to the UK.<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking to Travel Weekly<\/em> at VisitBritain\u2019s Australia Travel Trade Mission yesterday, Yates said the conflict had affected bookings from Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralia\u2026 tends to be quite a long booking period. So that uncertainty \u2013 I think about half the routes go through the Middle East \u2013 really worried people and it did cause a real slowdown,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Bookings have since started to recover, with Yates pointing to airline capacity as a sign of confidence in the market.<\/p>\n \u201cQatar\u2019s obviously flying and British Airways and Qantas have announced their new routes. So I think it will come back and there\u2019s a bit of pent-up demand there, hopefully\u2026 [meaning] that we get a great 2027,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The recovery comes after VisitBritain country manager Kristen Angus revealed that Australians are expected to contribute \u00a31.86 billion (AU$3.5 billion) to the UK economy in 2027.<\/p>\n Australians set to pour \u00a31.86bn into UK tourism in 2027<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n