Culture and the economy
London’s creative sector provides some 554,000 jobs in advertising, architecture, art and antiquities, crafts, design, designer fashion, film, music, performing arts, publishing, software and computer services, television and radio, and video and computer games. This is thought to represent the largest creative workforce of any city.
As well as acting as a driver for the creative industries across the UK, London’s creative sector is internationally significant. For example, the capital’s film industry is the largest post production centre outside of Hollywood.
London is also the world’s number one city destination for international travel. The visitor economy is worth around £15 billion per year and supports some 280,000 jobs in hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism.
The capital's visitor economy is underpinned by museums, galleries, theatres and music venues outnumbering those in New York, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai. London's major cultural festivals also help to show what the city has to offer the world. There have been particular successes in reaching the emerging visitor markets of China, India and Russia, through for example China in London, India Now and the Russian Winter Festival.
But London’s lead cannot be taken for granted. The visitor economy’s strong performance in overseas markets in recent years has accompanied a decline in domestic markets. The creative sector is affected by slowdowns in London’s private sector, especially in finance and business services.
The Mayor of London, the London Development Agency, Visit London and other members of the Consortium work to promote London and further develop its visitor economy and creative sector.
The Consortium acts as a forum to discuss and align efforts. We help to build understanding of how culture drives London's economy and success. We work with Central Government and neighbouring regions of England to champion London's creative sector and visitor economy as key contributors to the UK and to the Greater South East.