The Mayor of London has announced plans to launch a £5 million post-Covid tourism campaign to support the capital’s safe reopening. The campaign will focus on bringing domestic tourists back to London to help aid the recovery of the hospitality, retail and cultural sectors. The new recovery proposals could include “major events that showcase central London’s public spaces and cultural riches.”
Sadiq Khan said, “I am determined to do everything I can to help our great city recover as quickly as possible from this appalling pandemic.
“Crucial to that will be the safe reopening of central London and attracting Londoners and domestic visitors back to our amazing restaurants, pubs, cultural venues and of course our major shopping districts like Oxford and Regent Street and Covent Garden.
The research commissioned by the mayor found that London’s Central Activities Zone, which includes most of central London and Canary Wharf, has been drastically hit by a fall of more than £10 billion in tourist spending last year, as well as reduced footfall due to more home working. It has further highlighted the dire need for immediate action to protect against the “existential threat” to central London’s cultural and arts sector, with around 26,000 jobs at risk.
