Reveal outer London to tourists

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 7th Sep 2005

The capital's tourism agencies must do more to promote attractions and accommodation beyond central London, the London Assembly has heard.

The Assembly's Tourism Committee was told that more funding and resources and better communication with the boroughs are essential to increase visitor's knowledge of what is on offer across the capital. Years of under-investment in London's tourist industry has led to many boroughs missing out on the economic benefits tourists bring.

The London Development Agency (LDA) and Visit London's attempts to boost visitor numbers came under the spotlight yesterday as part of an Assembly investigation to find out who really benefits from tourism. Both organisations said they are committed to the dispersal of tourists across the capital. However, £19 million was spent on marketing tourism activities during 2004-05 and many boroughs believe the vast majority of this money is focused on the few square miles of central London.

The Committee has already received more than 30 submissions for its investigation, including evidence from the boroughs, English Heritage, the Royal Parks Agency and Society of London Theatres. There are concerns that Visit London does not promote outer London actively enough. English Heritage told the Committee that literature focuses too heavily on "young funky London" and not enough on 'heritage'. A representative from Croydon said marketing campaigns rarely highlight areas further than the city centre.

Although tourism strategies have been created for most boroughs, these initiatives have been criticised in the evidence as a "talking shop" with a one-size-fits-all approach. But the Committee was also told that the boroughs should not only rely on the LDA and Visit London. Boroughs need to better understand the value of tourism and work together to ensure their areas are clean, safe and well signposted.

Better transport links and funding to improve accommodation are also essential, particularly with the need to facilitate visitors to the 2012 Olympics, Wembley Stadium and the Wimbledon tennis championships. From next April, Visit London will only promote places to stay that are rated by the National Quality Assurance Scheme. Therefore, hotels, B&Bs, rooms in pubs, etc must be brought up to a high standard. Assembly Members have called on Visit London and the LDA to create a comprehensive list highlighting the different kinds of accommodation available to visitors.

Dee Doocey AM, Chair of the Committee said: "Although some progress is being made to get tourists to appreciate more of the capital, the pace of change is too slow. More needs to be done to promote outer London tourist attractions and the Committee will be keeping a close eye on how the tourism strategies are being implemented and monitored."