London Mayor Boris Johnson to boost tourism with hidden gems of London...chosen by you
A vision to bring the highlights of outer London to thousands of international visitors was unveiled today.
Boris Johnson and London and Partners, which promotes the capital, promised to use hundreds of suggestions made by Standard readers to help open up the city’s “rich diversity”.
Reader recommendations will be listed on VisitLondon.com. They include the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill; the RAF Museum in Colindale; Ernö Goldfinger’s Modernist house in Hampstead and Down House, Bromley, where Charles Darwin wrote On The Origin Of Species.
Also on the list are the London Museum of Water and Steam in Brentford; Hackney Empire; the Rivoli Ballroom in Crofton Park and L Manze’s pie and mash shop in Walthamstow. The new report — Take A Closer Look: a cultural tourism vision for London 2015-2017 — highlights how the capital attracts about 16.8 million overseas and 12.3 million domestic visitors, who spent £11.3 billion last year.
But London’s top 20 attractions accounted for 90 per cent of visitors.
The Mayor said that as the city was up against rivals such as New York, Paris and Amsterdam, it was important not only to celebrate world-famous sites but also “the cornucopia of other cultural riches”. He added: “I want more visitors to experience London as the glorious garden of culture we as Londoners know it to be.”
Bernard Donoghue, chief executive of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, said: “Visitors come for authentic experiences that transcend tick-list sightseeing.”
Other lesser-known gems suggested by readers include the lavender garden in Vauxhall Park, Postman’s Park near St Paul’s — which features in Patrick Marber’s play Closer — and east London graffiti.
The report says agencies must work more closely to raise awareness of such places. “We will do this by telling fresh stories and by working better together to promote the best city in the world,” it adds.
Pressure on transport infrastructure means it also makes sense to encourage tourists to travel more widely, to ease congestion in the centre, the report suggests. It pledges that tourism and cultural leaders will do more to collaborate and exchange ideas.
The document is backed by arts chiefs such as British Museum director Neil MacGregor. He said London was an expensive city, but also a generous one. “Among the great global cities, only in London are all the national museums, like the parks, free to all for recreation and inspiration.”
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