Rail strikes next week could cost the tourism, leisure and theatre industries more than £1bn, the government has been told.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of industry group UK Hospitality, gave the estimate after a union confirmed industrial action would go ahead.
“At the best, we think it’s going to take a hit to hospitality revenues of over half a billion pounds,” she told Times Radio.
The industry chief added: “If you look across the whole tourism, and leisure and theatre industries as a whole, you are definitely looking at an economic hit of over a billion pounds.”
On Saturday, union leaders confirmed that next week’s rail and Tube strikes will go ahead after talks failed to resolve a bitter row over pay, jobs and conditions.
This means industrial action will hit Network Rail and 13 train operators on Tuesday, Thursday and next Saturday, as well as the London Underground on Tuesday.
