British Union Jack Flags are displayed along Oxford Street to celebrate the forthcoming Platinum Jubilee
(Picture: Getty Images)The jubilee weekend could be worth £80 million to London’s West End and help kick start the economic recovery of the entire country, according to retailers.
It has been predicted the four-day bank holiday will draw in as many 2.6 million domestic and international tourists to the capital as the UK enjoys its first restriction-free summer, according to new research from New West End Company.
Dee Corsi, of the company, said the West End would be “transformed” by jubilant street parties, pageants and Her Majesty’s birthday parade.
She said: “Uniquely British events, such as jubilees or royal weddings, are a boom for high streets across the UK, with people coming out in force to eat, drink and shop over the long weekend.
“We strongly encourage the public to come out, support their high streets and enjoy everything London has to offer as we celebrate.”
The group are calling for extended opening hours, especially on the Sunday, as well as a simplification of the visitor visa system to fend off the pull of rival cities Paris and Milan.
Also, the New West End Company urged a rethink on the abolition of tax-free shopping which they say has seen other European cities enjoy a 20 per cent price advantage and has pushed the UK even further down the travel wish list for high-net-worth tourists.
Corsi added: “We’re in good stead to build back better, but we must clear a path if we want tourists — who generate an estimated £237 billion across Britain every year and support one in eight London jobs — to flock back to our high streets.”
It comes as Mayor Sadiq Khan launched his campaign Let’s Do London, welcoming US tourists back to the capital.
Over the past two years spending has been little more than half the normal £10 billion as lockdowns, working from home and the foreign tourist being unable to visit have ravaged the heart of the capital.
The recent opening of the Elizabeth line is also expected turbo-charge the West End’s recovery by delivering a £400 million boost to spending this year.
Tens of millions more visitors a year are expected to visit London’s shopping and entertainment district with the opening of the £19 billion east-west railway.
The four-day weekend marking the Queen’s 70-year reign will be packed full of events including Trooping the Colour, a military fly past, a service of thanksgiving and a star-studded pageant.
Platinum jubilee beacons will be lit across the nation, as well as in Commonwealth Countries across the long weekend.
