The number of business travelers using Channel Tunnel rail operator Eurostar in 2011 fell 3 percent year over year.

Eurostar attributed a 5 percent drop in the fourth quarter of the year to "the deteriorating economic environment and the eurozone debt crisis." With growing leisure passenger counts, the rail operator overall served 9.7 million passengers in 2011, up 2 percent from 2010. Full-year sales revenues climbed 6 percent to £803 million and the preliminary net profit was £20.8 million. This is the first year Eurostar has reported financial figures as a consolidated venture between its three railway partners in Belgium, France and the United Kingdom.