Responding to the Mayor’s announcement of a four year funding deal for the new promotion agency for London, UKinbound welcomed the end of a period of great uncertainty for tourism promotion in London but stressed that inbound tourism must be represented at the highest level in this new agency.
 
Mary Rance, Chief Executive, UKinbound, said:
 
“Inbound tourism is the third largest exporter contributing £19bn of export revenue to the UK economy. London is the main international gateway for inbound tourism and Visit London’s role in driving visitor numbers and revenue to the economy has been crucial in attracting visitors to the UK. 
 
The transition to the new Agency must be seamless. It is vital not to lose the momentum in the coming year and in the run up to the 2012 Olympics when there is a real danger that our regular international visitors will stay away. Strong proactive tourism promotion is essential to ensure that the aspirational legacy of the 2012 Games is achieved.
 
UKinbound has worked very closely in partnership with Visit London and we look forward to working with Promote London to ensure a new era of regeneration in inbound tourism.”