Mayor of London announces £5m plan to support safe reopening of Central London

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced proposals to invest £5m to support the eventual reopening of central London, including a brand-new drive to attract visitors – including Londoners and tourists from the rest of the UK –back to hard-hit retail, hospitality and cultural venues.

London has always benefitted from huge levels of both domestic and international tourism – but that has virtually dried up due to the pandemic. Recent analysis showed that over the course of 2020 visitors from overseas and the rest of the UK spent nearly £11 billion less than in 2019.

The Mayor wants domestic tourism to be at the heart of London’s drive to ‘build back better’ and will relentlessly focus on putting jobs and the economy at the heart of post-pandemic planning, taking his inspiration from Britain’s recovery after the second world war.

Through this proposed new investment, Mr Khan will work with key partners, including London’s trade, investment and promotion agency, London and Partners, which the Mayor funds, as the path out of lockdown becomes clearer. Working with the business community, new initiatives will be developed to encourage Londoners and tourists from around the UK back into central London. Proposals are likely to include major events that showcase central London’s public spaces and cultural riches.

The Mayor of London, 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. 

“London has always been one of the most visited cities in the world and my proposed investment will help to support central London as it begins to recover. 

“In the longer term, we look forward to welcoming international visitors back once again and I have called upon the Government to fund a major international tourism campaign with London as the gateway to the UK.

“Although there is light at the end of the tunnel with the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines, the GLA Group budgets remain in a precarious position. While we have received higher than expected council tax and business rates returns, unless the Government fully invests in the capital, there is no doubt that I will need to cut vital services, which will in turn hamper our recovery.”