Eurostar has reported a “challenging” first quarter of the year as the recent terror attacks across Europe hit passenger numbers.
The cross-channel operator said travellers remain “cautious” which has “dampened” demand.
Passenger numbers for the first three months of 2016 dropped 3 per cent compared to the same period the previous year, and sales revenues were down 6 per cent year-on-year.
"The impact has been particularly evident in international markets with Eurostar reporting a slowdown in travellers from the US and Asia,” Eurostar said.
Despite the drop in passenger numbers Eurostar has reported a surge in ticket sales for the Euro 2016 tournament in France which kicks off in June.
CEO Nicolas Petrovic said: “We have seen an unprecedented demand from football supporters keen to get the Euros by train. With our city-centre to city-centre services and a brand new state-of-the art fleet of trains, we are ideally placed to carry fans from the UK direct to the heart of the action in France.”
Amsterdam route
Eurostar has started testing its new e320 trains on the Dutch rail network as it prepares to launch its new London-Amsterdam service next year. The direct service is expected to take around four hours.
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