The capital’s new promotion agency, London & Partners, was officially launched today, replacing three separate agencies after Government spending cuts forced City Hall to streamline promotion of the capital both overseas and within the UK.
In December Mayor of London Boris Johnson confirmed the merging of Think London, Visit London and Study London into a single agency following reductions in Government funding to the capital.
The new agency will work to promote the capital as a destination for tourism, business investment and overseas students and will be tasked with promoting the capital’s roll in hosting the 2012 Olympics.
Launching the new agency Mayor Johnson said the capital had “an incredible story to tell and by harnessing our resources under one roof I believe we can become an even stronger magnet for tourists, students and investors in the coming decades.”
London & Partners will be led by interim chair Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas and Chief Executive Danny Lopez, formerly group director at the London Development Agency. The agency will work alongside Transport for London, Film London and other key stakeholders to promote the capital’s opportunities for investors and the arts.
Dee Doocey, Liberal Democrat London Assembly spokesperson on tourism, welcomed the decision to merge the three agencies which she said “often duplicated the work of each other.”
However Doocey said the new agency “must now hit the ground running and ensure that we harvest the potential benefits of next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“Next year’s Games are London’s best kept secret and only a massive branding exercise will end this.”
