LONDON: The mayor of London, Mr. Sadiq Khan, has launched a drive to promote London to visitors from other parts of the United Kingdom following a recent decline in domestic tourism.
London is one of the most visited cities in the world. In 2017, 32m tourists visited the capital for more than one day, generating almost £26bn for the capital’s economy. Of these, 19.8m were international tourists, while 12.2m were from England, Scotland and Wales. Tourism supports approximately 700,000 jobs in the capital.
But while international visits to London have increased during each of the past five years, there has been a decline in the number of visitors from around the UK who visit the capital for just one day. Day visits to London reduced by three per cent in 2017, from 337m, to 327m. During this time, spend from day visits reduced considerably, by approximately 13 per cent from £14.4bn to £12.6bn.
London & Partners (L&P) currently promotes London internationally but with the Mayor’s announcement they will now have responsibility for coordinating an industry-led Domestic Tourism Consortium that will promote the capital to domestic tourists as well.
The Mayor will commit £600,000 to the Domestic Tourism Consortium over the next two years to support dedicated campaigns and promotional activity to address the decline in UK visitors.
Speaking to over 300 of the capital’s tourism and hospitality businesses at L&P’s annual ‘Tourism Means Business’ conference.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said, “Tourism is of huge value to our economy, and domestic tourists tend to spend more than international visitors. So it’s important that we take action to boost the number of visitors to London from around the UK.
“I am pleased to announce that London & Partners will now be using their considerable expertise in promoting London, to also target a domestic audience, working closely with business to promote the capital to other parts of the UK and spread the message that London is and always will be open.”
Tracy Halliwell, Director of tourism at London & Partners said, “London is one of the world’s leading tourism destinations and we are thrilled to be supporting the capital’s tourism sector by coordinating the industry-led Domestic Tourism Consortium and delivering dedicated promotional campaigns for domestic visitors to come to London”
