tourism
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Being a solution,
Mayors in deal to boost tourism
London and New York in move to help each other promote travel
not a problem
By Pete Hayman
The government needs to be
London mayor Boris Johnson has secured a
convinced of tourism's value
new two-year tourism deal with New York
counterpart, Michael Bloomberg, designed
to boost tourism between the two cities.

bloomberg
yor
The agreement will see London and New
ma

of
kurt janson is
York provide outdoor advertising space to
policy director
help each other promote travel, while the
,
office
at tourism
cities' tourism agencies – Visit London and

tucker
alliance
NYC & Company – will share best practices to
maximise tourism opportunities.
:
spencer
It is hoped that the deal can capitalise on image
the existing levels of tourism between the The two mayors at the signing of the deal
O
ne of the interesting things two cities, with nearly 2 million Americans
coming out of the slow wind-up visiting London in 2008 and more than 1.3 "Our common cultural ties, not least
to the next election is that all million UK residents travelling to New York. absolute dedication to providing world-
parties have now admitted they'll have Johnson said: "London and New York class services and experiences for both
to cut public expenditure should they City share many similarities, including a residents and visitors, make the two cities
get hold of the reins of power next year. strong sense of optimism and determina- exceptionally well poised to combine
The big question is where these cuts tion, along with a great appreciation for knowledge as well as resources to impact
will come from. diversity and innovation. the economies and future of the cities."
Areas such as health, education and
policing look reasonably safe as
proposals to cut spending in these
BAA passenger numbers continue to fall
areas provide little political upside. On
the other hand, initiatives and By Tom Walker
organizations seen as wasteful with
little public support present ripe Airport operator BAA has seen a 3.1 per
targets – the cutting of the Trident cent decline in the number of passengers it
programme has already been handled during August, despite a fifth
announced while other targets include successive month of traffic growth at
the National Identity Card (Labour) and Edinburgh Airport.
the RDAs (the Conservative Party). Compared with figures for August last
Over the coming months this list of

view
year, Edinburgh Airport reported a

on
targets will continue to grow. The task ain 4.8 per cent increase in passenger
will therefore be to ensure that, when
:
brit
numbers to 928,500. Meanwhile, Heath-
the spotlight of public expenditure image row Airport saw its busiest ever August,
inevitably falls on tourism, strong Heathrow Airport bucked the trend by handling nearly 6.4 million people – an
arguments are in place to show that experiencing its busiest ever August increase of 0.3 per cent.
the funding allocated to the sector is
warranted. If government was
unconvinced of the benefits of tourism
Cowen launches Irish domestic tourism scheme
during the good years, it is unlikely
that it will survive the spending cuts. Taoiseach Brian Cowen has launched worth E50 (£44) to be used at selected
The Tourism Alliance is therefore Fáilte Ireland's new E37.5m (£33.2m) venues over the next two months.
using the party conferences to Autumn Initiative as part of wider efforts Funded by participating members of
highlight the benefits of tourism – to encourage more Irish people to opt the tourism industry, the Autumn
spending just £1,400 on overseas for holidays at home. Initiative will be led by Fáilte Ireland to
marketing generates 100 new visitors. The new scheme features the publica- promote a wide range of free activities
These visitors spend £50,000 in the UK, tion of the new Discover Ireland holiday and attractions across the country, as
of which around £8,000 goes straight to supplement for September and October, well as including discount vouchers for
the Exchequer. The sector has a good which provide a special offer 'cheque' sites with admission fees.
story to tell, but we must tell it well.
20 Read Leisure Opportunities online www.leisureopportunities.com/digital © Cybertrek 2009
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