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London’s tourism sector will reportedly benefit from a £10m campaign designed by Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, to drive visitors to the city, GlobalData revealed.
As travel restrictions ease globally, Khan plans to encourage international tourists to return to London with a £7m international marketing campaign. He reportedly plans to spend an additional £3m attracting domestic tourists to London as an extension of ‘Let’s Do London’.
However, a GlobalData survey reveals that 68% of UK respondents are concerned about eating out at restaurants because of COVID-19 risk and a further 69% are concerned about visiting shops.
Covid-19 related travel restrictions saw international arrivals to the UK decline by 80.2% year-on-year to 7.8 million in 2020 year-on-year from $43.2bn (£32.24bn) in 2019 to $6.8bn (£5.07bn) in 2020.
Hannah Free, Travel and Tourism analyst at GlobalData, said: “While rural staycation areas in the UK have been able to capitalise on changes in demand, tourism businesses in London have suffered and continue to face a barrage of challenges.
“GlobalData forecasts expect international arrivals to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, with a projected 39.8 million visitors. However, competitor cities are already out-promoting and out-spending London.”
She adds: “While the proposed campaign will be a welcomed driver of domestic tourism, a cornerstone of promotional activity will need to showcase London as a safe destination to attract visitors.”
