London to invest GBP 6m in campaign to get people back into the city

Motivated by reports showing that London’s economy could reduce by £36 billion over the next decade if no further action is taken, the Mayor of London has announced GBP 5 million to support the reopening of central London. This government funding needs to ensure survival of central London’s hard-hit retail, hospitality, and cultural venues and protect a maximum number of tourism jobs.

Sophie Herbert, Marketing & Sales Director at WYSE member Beds and Bars Group is part of the London Tourism Recovery board and explains that this government funding includes a brand-new campaign to attract domestic visitors and tourists back into the capital post-lockdown: “There is an expected loss of 15 million international visits that needs to be recovered through displaced travel. Currently there is only GBP 2 million allocated for marketing whereas our data show that we need the triple amount for nationwide marketing. Furthermore it is essential to speed up because our Google search stats prove that there is a clear need to create awareness and increase confidence and motivate the audience for a trip to central London”.

Trade bodies and sectors will continue to lobby for more funds but help from the industry is needed: “London needs to come together to drive the summer trading period” says Sophie. “The board recognize that it is a tough time to be requesting cash, but London needs to come together to drive the summer trading period and protect jobs now”.

The City of London Corporation is a member of London Tourism Recovery Board (LTRB) along with 15 industry members + GLA and Government observers. The LTRB Board is co-chaired by Bernard Donoghue CEO ALVA and Kate Nicholls CEO UKH. The Board works with a sub-marketing Directors Group Chaired by Merlin Entertainments Uk Marketing Director Sara Holt who have created a clear brief to drive domestic bookings into London working in partnership with L&P and VisitEngland & Britain. The brief will be delivered by L&P and they will announce the campaign and timings in due course. The creative direction for the campaign is ‘Let’s Do London’ and we are using this call-to-action in our activity and encourage you to use as much of the toolkit as possible. Together we are aiming to create a cohesive and powerful voice for London to drive bookings, secure jobs and rebuild our economy. There are opportunities to take part in this activity via the “Lets Do London” campaign, as well as through contributions towards the campaign. More information to follow, in the meantime please contact Sophie Herbert to discuss opportunities and for access to the toolkit.

Please contact Sophie Herbert via sophie@bedsandbars.com for more information on joining this campaign.

As part of his ongoing work, the Mayor has announced that London is joining forces with Berlin, New York, and Paris. The four cities will be working together over the summer to share data and ideas.

Garnering support and recovery funding is a big part of the good fight to secure a better future for people and businesses. If you know about any government funding scheme to rebuild tourism, please let us know and contact desiree.peters@wysetc.org