PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Tourism: Coronavirus (23 June 2020)

We recognise the COVID-19 crisis has significantly impacted tourism across the UK, including in London. Both DCMS and VisitEngland remain in regular contact with tourism stakeholders and Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) to closely monitor the situation and to assess the economic effects in all regions of the UK. We also appreciate the importance of inbound tourism to London; we recognise that the current travel restrictions present difficulties for the sector.

In addition, the Government and the Mayor of London recently established the London Transition Board to discuss how the capital is responding to COVID-related challenges.

The Chancellor has announced a host of measures to support businesses and individuals through the crisis, including those in the tourism sector. This includes the recently extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Bounce Back Loans scheme.

Through VisitEngland, we announced a £1.3 million scheme to provide financial support to DMOs at risk of closure due to COVID-19. The DMO Resilience Fund has supported a number of DMOs in the South East, including Visit Greenwich, enabling them to continue their vital business support work.

From 4 July, people will be allowed to enjoy holidays in England. To help tourism businesses in the capital prepare, we have published reopening guidance on Gov.uk for the visitor economy as well as hotels and other guest accommodation. We will continue to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support tourism’s recovery across the UK.