Friday, February 19, 2021
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has recently revealed plans to launch a £5m tourism campaign to encourage people to travel back to the capital post-COVID. The money will be used to bring domestic visitors and tourists back to London in a safe way to help aid the recovery of the hospitality, retail and cultural sectors when pandemic travel restrictions start to ease. Khan said in a statement that the safe reopening of Central London will be fundamental to the long-term future prosperity of the capital. Plans are likely to include ‘major events that showcase London’s public spaces and cultural riches’, with more details set to be announced on what it would look like.
Khan mentioned that he is determined to do everything possible to help the great city recover as quickly as possible from the appalling pandemic. He added that crucial to that will be the safe reopening of central London and attracting Londoners and domestic visitors back to the amazing restaurants, pubs, cultural venues and of course to the major shopping districts like Oxford and Regent Street and Covent Garden. He shared that London has always been one of the most visited cities in the world and stated that the proposed investment will help to support central London as it begins to recover.
He also informed that in the long term, the city looks forward to welcome international visitors back once again and shared that he has called upon the Government to fund a major international tourism campaign with London as the gateway to the U.K.The news will be welcomed by London hoteliers, who have suffered greatly during the pandemic due to the sharp drop-off in international visitors, a decline in business travel in part to increased home working and the closure of theatres and nightlife venues. A report last month commissioned by the mayor found that tourist spending in central London had fallen by over £10bn in the last year.
Tags: Coronavirus, Covid-19, london, London tourism
