The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched the largest international tourism campaign the city has ever seen to attract global visitors back to London.
‘Lets Do London’ was launched by the Mayor this morning in New York’s iconic Times Square. The Mayor was joined by the cast of the hit British musical ‘SIX’, which has received rave reviews since transferring from the West End to Broadway last autumn. It brought all the pomp and ceremony of the royal city, halting New York traffic with a formal presentation of the Coldstream Guards , installation of the iconic red phone booths and a vintage black London cab to officially kick-off the campaign here in the States. New Yorkers and tourists alike were dazzled by cast members of ‘SIX’ performing a hit song from their award-winning musical that is currently playing on Broadway and London’s West End.
Today is the first day of Sadiq’s four-day trip to the United States.
Prior to the pandemic, London was the third most visited city on the planet, with a thriving tourism sector accounting for as many as one in five jobs in London and contributing almost 12 per cent of the city’s gross domestic product.
Supporting London’s inbound visitor recovery helps promote UK-wide tourism and will benefit destinations outside London as well.
The capital welcomed 3.09 million visitors from the US in the year running up to the first coronavirus lockdown. These visitors were vital to London’s tourism economy, as well as hospitality and cultural venues across the city, spending £2.45 billion in 2019 alone. All these sectors were badly impacted by the pandemic but now that all restrictions on international travel for passengers arriving in the UK have been lifted, Sadiq is determined to do all he can to entice international visitors back to the city.
The new tourist campaign will be led by London’s business growth and destination agency, London & Partners (L&P), alongside the Mayor’s ongoing domestic marketing campaign which has already brought in an additional £81 million in spending and 330,000 overnight visitors to the capital.
The new Let’s Do London campaign aims to inspire travellers to choose London for their next trip by shining a spotlight on the city’s unparalleled range of attractions, exhibitions, and events. It estimated to reach over 43 million individuals in the U.S. via several channels, including video on demand, YouTube, social media, display and out-of-home advertising.
Meanwhile, a new promotional video celebrating London’s comeback and showcasing some of the best the capital has to offer has also been released today to promote London as a leading destination to live, work and visit. The video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWmymUDBG2M
2022 is an exceptional year for London, which will play host to once-in-a-lifetime events such as The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The Jubilee and the celebrations throughout the year are a key draw for American visitors to the UK in 2022.
This year will also mark the return of internationally renowned festivals including the 50thAnniversary of Pride in London and Notting Hill Carnival, as well as the UEFA Women’s EURO championship at Wembley, the Wimbledon Championships, Adele, Elton John and the Rolling Stones performing at Hyde Park and the pioneering ABBA Voyage opening at a custom-made theatre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
There will be a summer of world class visual art for Londoners and visitors to see up close, with blockbuster art exhibitions including Picasso Ingres: Face to Face at the National Gallery, Surrealism beyond Borders at Tate Modern and Edvard Munch at The Courtauld Gallery and kicking off with the London Gallery Weekend on 13-15 May.
Stars of stage and screen including Mark Rylance, Amy Adams and Beverly Knight tread the boards of the West End’s famous theatres, and Shakespeare’s Globe plans a series of special events to celebrate its 25th Anniversary.
The Elizabeth Line, a new railway from east to west London will open this month, giving visitors a new high-speed route across the city.
Speaking in Times Square this morning, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “New York and London are global cities defined by our shared energy, innovation and constant evolution. I can think of nowhere better to launch this exciting campaign encouraging our American friends to discover London – particularly during our special platinum Jubilee year of celebration.
“We know that visitors to our great city often go on to explore other parts of the UK, so when London succeeds in bringing back tourists it benefits the whole country.
“Our tourism industry was hit hard by the pandemic but will be crucial to our economy bouncing back that’s why I am delighted that our capital is once again ready to welcome visitors from around the world.”
Laura Citron, CEO at London & Partners, which runs Visit London said: “We’re excited to be launching our largest international tourism campaign in the US - one of our most important and valuable tourism markets. We’ve heard loud and clear from our partners in London that they are open for business and ready to welcome back international visitors with open arms. We’re proud to be working with London’s tourism industry to deliver this message and help to drive London’s economic recovery.”
Bernard Donoghue, Co-Chair, London Tourism Recovery Board said: "London's tourism businesses are delighted to be partnering with the Mayor in recovering and growing our visitor economy. Our iconic attractions, museums and galleries, theatres and heritage sites, world class hotels, bars and restaurants have worked very successfully together to invite our domestic audiences to revisit the Capital and now we're proud that our international campaign is being launched and so strongly supported by the Mayor. This summer is a great time to visit London and our much missed visitors will be sure of a very warm welcome."
Jace Tyrrell, Chief Executive at New West End Company representing London’s West End & Mayfair said: “We are gearing up for mega into summer of celebration here in London, with our visitors enjoying bonus attractions and events to mark both Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee and 50 years of Pride. The Mayor’s £10 million campaign is therefore both welcome and timely to ensure that our businesses can maximise on the unique opportunity these cultural milestones present. We must prioritise enhancing Britain’s attractiveness to overseas visitors at this vital time in our recovery, not only through our cultural heritage but also key Government policy changes, including the reintroduction of tax-free shopping and a more competitive visa scheme to compete with Schengen.”
Merlin Entertainments UK Marketing Director & Chair of the London Recovery Board Marketing Directors Group Sara Holt, said: “Following the success of the UK ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign, which helped protect hundreds of jobs in the capital, the international launch is incredibly important in enticing overseas visitors back to our amazing city. We thank the Mayor for his ongoing support for industry as we recover the tourism sector which was decimated by the pandemic. Merlin is incredibly proud to have been involved with ‘Let’s Do London’ from the very beginning and it has been a privilege to lead the marketing directors group and work alongside London & Partners to deliver this impressive campaign. This summer will be an amazing time to visit London and enjoy everything we have to offer.”
Neil Constable, CEO of Shakespeare's Globe, said: We were proud to host Sadiq at Shakespeare's Globe for his signing in as Mayor of London, and to be now playing an active part in the recovery of the UK’s cultural sector. This campaign is a fantastic way to get the message out that London is open and has so much to offer. Our outdoor Globe Theatre is fully open for our Summer Shakespeare season and ready to welcome back international visitors to enjoy world-class theatre, our award-winning Guided Tour, and of course the Thames-side Swan Bar & Restaurant. Our American founder, Sam Wanamaker, and our American founders would be so proud to see the Globe continuing to be at the heart of London's offer to the world.
Tim Reeve, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, V&A, said: “We are delighted to support the Mayor of London’s Let’s Do London campaign at the V&A. International visitors have always played a thriving role in the culture of London. With the V&A now back to welcoming visitors 7 days a week, with a packed summer programme and a host of exhibitions and displays, we look forward to sharing this once again with a truly global audience.”
From New York, Sadiq will be travelling to San Francisco and Los Angeles to strengthen economic and cultural ties and drive investment between London and the United States.
This is the Mayor’s first major international visit since the pandemic started and represents a significant milestone of his work to promote London to tourists, business, entrepreneurs and students.
In meetings with business people, senior politicians and city leaders, discussions will cover key issues shared with London, including the post-pandemic economic recovery, improving air quality and tackling the climate crisis, the need for greater social integration and fighting crime. Photo by Diliff, Wikimedia commons.