The mayor will target the US and Canada, as well as France and Germany
(Picture: Getty Images)Sadiq Khan is planning a campaign to lure back international visitors to ease the “crisis” that has left central London struggling to recover from the pandemic.
The mayor will target the US, as well as France or Germany at a later stage, as he aims to build on last year’s Let’s Do London campaign that encouraged domestic tourists to visit the capital.
Plans have been drawn up with his Covid business forum and Mr Khan is set to visit the US in early summer to “bang the drum” for London businesses.
He also said he hoped Trafalgar Square would host St Patrick’s day and St George’s day events this year. He said he is looking forward to the London Marathon, which is being held in October this year, returning to its traditional April date from next year.
Last week, it was announced that the Pride festival would return to the streets of central London on July 2 marking its 50th anniversary.
Mr Khan said: “In parts of outer and inner London, things are pretty good. There has been a good recovery. During the pandemic because people were working from home, those local economies have done well
“The real crisis in our city is in the central activities zone – the centre of our city, the City of London, Westminster, Camden, Kensington and Chelsea, the South Bank, Canary Wharf.
“The first thing we have got to do is get international tourists back. We have got a big campaign – Let’s Do London – which has encouraged many tourists from around the country to come back, and now we are working on our campaign for North America.
“The three target audiences that will really help the centre of our city are North America (USA and Canada), France and Germany.”
Mayoral aides later clarified that Mr Khan had “misspoken”, in making the comments at People’s Question Time, and the international tourism campaign would initially focus on the east coast of the USA and not include Canada. Either France or Germany would also be targeted, but not both.
His visit to the US is expected to focus on the technology and innovation sectors and boosting links with the capital.
Lockdown restrictions and curbs on international travel saw tourist spending fall by almost £11 billion in 2020 compared to the previous year.
There are fears international tourism may not return pre-pandemic levels until at least 2025.
The £6m Let’s Do London campaign was credited with helping to draw UK visitors to the capital.
A total of 280,000 domestic tourists visited the capital last summer, adding an estimated £70m to the London economy.
Mr Khan said the second part of his strategy in restoring the fortunes of central London was encouraging workers back to their offices.
But he said this was directly linked to the number of buses and Tube services that Transport for London was able to run.
Last Friday the Government delayed a decision on TfL’s future funding by extending its current pandemic bailout by a fortnight, until February 18.
“We have got to make the experience of public transport a good one,” Mr Khan said.
“You can’t cut public transport and expect that capital city to help the national recovery. People aren’t going to want to use the Tube if there are fewer Tube trains.”
City Hall has announced a series of free events taking place across the city over the school half-term holidays which begin at the end of the week.
The Spring into London initiative includes a free programme of outdoor art and a series of light installations, City Lights, at locations including St Paul’s churchyard from February 11-20.
The South Bank will host the Imagine Children’s Festival, in its 20th anniversary, from Wednesday until February 20.
Up to 60 West End shows will offer tickets from £10.
