Tony Travers has a piece in today's Evening Standard on London's economy, the international financial crisis, and the way London should respond to it.
This, among other things, deals with an issue this blog has discussed in detail - the damage done to London by Boris Johnson's cuts to the budgets and agencies to promote London. This blog's author has posted the following comment on Travers article on the Evening Standard's website:
'Tony Travers writes: "First, tourism is a sector with massive short- and long-term potential. The economies of China, India, Russia and beyond will generate vast numbers of new tourists in the years ahead. West End theatre is the best thing of its kind in the world and, along with the capital's unparalleled museums and heritage, a big draw for the world's growing middle class. London has some of the world's best art and architecture schools. In a less glossy near-future, Britain's cheap-and-cool fashion, music and talent will be a tremendous asset... Agencies such as Visit London, Think London, Film London and London Higher, which respectively promote tourism, inward-investment, film and universities, will need additional resources. Now is not the time to make "efficiency savings" in these bodies. Indeed, there may be a need for new ones, for example to promote the capital's health sector."
Unfortunately slashing the budgets of these agencies which promote London is exactly what Boris Johnson has done. He has abolished entirely London Unlimited, the integrated agency for promoting London in other countries, and cut the budget for London's tourism agency Visit London.
Boris Johnson should admit that these cuts were deeply damaging to London, publicly reverse these policies, and admit Ken Livingstone was right on them.
It remains to be seen whether he will do so.'
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.