Key information
Request reference number: MGLA090522-0497
Date of response:
Summary of request
Your request
What is the total cost of the Mayor's visit to the USA?
What class of travel has been used for the party?
What grade of hotels have been used?
How many staff have accompanied the Mayor?
If the Mayor and staff are paid nightly subsistence, what is the nightly rate paid to both the Mayor and staff?
What is the percentage of the time in the USA is free time? i.e. no official engagements.
Our response
The Mayor’s visit to New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles between 8 and 12 May 2022 was his first international visit since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Banging the drum for London in key international markets is a core part of the Mayor’s work to secure the economic and social recovery of London.
As with previous international visits, the Mayor and the GLA are fully committed to keeping costs to a minimum and maximising value for money.
The total cost for the City Hall delegation is £34,263.93.
All expenditure for the Mayor’s visit was in line with the Greater London Authority (GLA)’s Expenses and Benefits Framework. United Airlines supported the visit through a package of flights where only taxes and fees were payable. Costs for all flights were therefore £254.76 per person. The agreement with United Airlines was for business class flights from London to New York, New York to San Francisco and Los Angeles to London and economy class flights from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
The hotels used by the Mayor during the visit were selected from a list of ‘marker’ hotels recommended by the British Consulates in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The Mayor and delegation stayed at the following hotels:
Lexington Hotel New York (four star)
Orchard Garden Hotel San Francisco (four star)
Double Tree Hilton Downtown Los Angeles (four star)
Eight City Hall officials accompanied the Mayor, in line with previous international visits.
Two Deputy Mayors in charge of particularly relevant policy areas also visited the USA at the same time as the Mayor in order to maximise the impact of the visit.
They joined the Mayor at some of his engagements as needed and carried out their own additional meetings to promote London in-market:
Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor for Business (San Francisco only)
Justine Simons, Deputy Mayor for Culture & Creative Industries (Los Angeles only)
The Mayor and staff were not paid nightly subsistence.
With regard to the proportion of free time during the visit, please see the final record of all engagements attached. It will also be covered in the next Mayor’s Report to the Assembly.
See further information about the purpose and content of the Mayor’s visit:
Sadiq heads to America to bang the drum for London
Mayor launches new international tourism campaign in New York
Mayor in Silicon Valley to boost London’s position as global tech hub
London and Los Angeles work together to tackle the climate emergency
If you have any further questions relating to this matter, please contact me, quoting reference MGLA090522-0497.
Related documents
Final itinerary Mayoral visit 8-12 May 2022