Mayor launches £2m tourism marketing push for London

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has today launched a £2m marketing campaign for the capital to attract overseas tourists called Only in London.

The mayor launched the campaign, to be run by Visit London, on the London Eye on the first day of British Tourism Week (23 to 29 March).

Funded by the London Development Agency, the global campaign, which launches at the end of April, showcases the experiences, sights and attractions that are unique to London.

Johnson said: "Only in London can you visit the historic Houses of Parliament in the morning, ride the London Eye in the afternoon, and see a wonderful West End show before deciding which of the world's cuisines to sample in its many restaurants.

Referring to the current weakness of Sterling against the Euro and the Dollar, he added: "As well as the massive choice of things to do and see, our overseas visitors will find London even greater value for money today."

The campaign is expected to deliver an additional £60m worth of benefits to the capital. Visit London said its £600,000 winter marketing campaigns had, to date returned £6.7m to the economy.

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By Chris Druce

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