Mayor’s international tourism recovery plan needs work

The Mayor should set out how his recovery programme will help London’s tourism industry bounce back from the coronavirus crisis, according to a report by the London Assembly Economy Committee.

London’s tourism sector remains fragile, with domestic and international visitor overnight numbers unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels until the middle of the decade [1]. The Committee notes that the Mayor has no specific recovery mission for tourism, despite its importance to London’s economy.

Tourism supports as many as one in seven jobs in London and accounts for almost 12 per cent of the city’s economic output [2]. To address these concerns, the Committee has today published the report London Calling: Rebuilding London’s tourism industry.

It urges the Mayor to clarify how his recovery programme will help rebuild London’s tourism industry in the wake of the pandemic and which Deputy Mayor has overall responsibility for this. Other recommendations include:

• The Mayor’s international tourism campaign should encourage international visitors to make longer visits to London.
• As part of the Good Work Standard, the Mayor should continue to work alongside employers in the tourism industry to improve working conditions.
• Given that the tourism and hospitality sectors have not fully recovered by March 2022, the Government should maintain the current VAT rate of 12.5 per cent for these sectors until March 2023.

The Committee has also written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak MP, with the recommendation that the VAT rate should be retained for a further 12 months.



Neil Garratt AM, Chairman of the Economy Committee, said:



“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, London was the third most visited city in the world. Anyone who lives here knows why – we have spectacular tourist attractions, a vibrant West End, the finest restaurants, and world-class shopping destinations.

“It was terrible to see these attractions close and tourism across London grind to a halt during the pandemic.

“Aside from the impact on individual businesses, we must remember that tourism is an essential part of London’s economy, employing 700,000 people – one in seven of the capital’s jobs.



“Surprisingly, there is no specific recovery mission for tourism and it features only briefly in the Mayor’s other missions, despite its importance to London’s economy.



“So, we are urging the Mayor to clarify how his recovery missions will help tourism recover and how this work is being coordinated in the Mayoral team.”