Some London Tourist Attractions Closed Following Increased Terror Threat Level
Following the tragic attack at a concert in Manchester earlier this week, the United Kingdom has raised its threat level to critical. Yesterday, Prime Minister Theresa May raised the UK's terror threat level, indicating that intelligence agencies believe another terror attack is imminent. And now, as a result of the increased threat, we're seeing an affect on the country's tourism industry.
Today in London, several of the main tourist attractions in the city were closed as a precaution. The UK also deployed members of the military to watch over other tourist destinations throughout the city. On Wednesday, the Houses of Parliament were closed to the public and all tours of the facilities were canceled. In addition, the defense ministry canceled Buckingham Palace's iconic Changing of the Guard ceremony, and the Bank of England was closed to visitors for the day. Looking ahead, Chelsea Football Club was supposed to celebrate winning the English Premier League with a parade on Sunday, but that has also been canceled.
Other popular tourist destinations throughout the city remained open but saw increased security. The Tower of London and Kensington Palace were both open for the day.
As of this writing, none of the major airlines that offer service between the UK and the US have offered travel waivers following the increased security concerns. Earlier this month, the US Department of State warned American tourists to use caution when traveling this summer to Europe. However, since PM May raised the UK's alert to critical, the US State Department hasn't issued any additional warnings.
Our thoughts go out to the victims and their families of this week's attack.
Featured image courtesy of Daniel Leal-Olivas via Getty Images.
H/T: CNN Money
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