regions uk & ireland New attractions for 2018 Culture
The Southbank’s Hayward Gallery has reopened following a three- year refurbishment, while the Royal Academy of Arts has launched several new spaces to celebrate its 250th anniversary. The Royal Opera House has improved its accessibility. The V&A, which holds one of the largest and most important photography collections in the world, is opening phase one of a dedicated Photography Centre this autumn. It will present a sweeping history of the art, while a digital wall will showcase cutting-edge images. Phase two will include facilities for photographers’ residencies. Looking ahead, Westminster Abbey has started building a new museum and galleries to display treasures from its 1,000-year history and make more of the impressive views to the nearby Houses of Parliament.
Food
Enhancing the capital’s food and social scene, and following from the success of culinary and tourist hotspot Borough Market, a series of new Market Halls are bringing renewed bustle to some of London’s unloved public spaces. The first to launch, this spring, was Market Halls Fulham (page 61) in the ornate entrance to an Edwardian underground station. More centrally, Victoria’s Terminus Place is poised to gain another, while a third Market Hall will open in the autumn just off shopping destination Oxford Street. Beside produce for sale, the various sites include bars and eateries and are open into the evenings.
Market Halls chief executive Andy Lewis-Pratt says the Fulham venue had received more than 150,000 guests since it launched in May. He adds: “As Market Hall Victoria is located opposite Victoria station we expect it to be busy with commuters, local residents and businesses as well as international tourists. We want to create a space that doesn’t exclude anyone, it will be a space for everyone to enjoy.” Also with food as its focus, Box Park Wembley, a sister to the popular Box Parks at Shoreditch and Croydon, is opening in late 2018 in the home of the UK’s most famous football stadium. The modern space will not only house multiple independent
70 wtm insights autumn 2018
traders but also have an arena space for live events. In restaurant news, celebrity chef
Marco Pierre White has opened a contemporary Chophouse in Whitechapel, east London, while Andrew Wong has a premium Chinese restaurant in Bloomberg Arcade in The City. Italian eatery Chucs is new at Harrods’ revamped Fine Watch Room, and Neptune has debuted in Bloomsbury with a British seafood focus. The iconic former home of the BBC at White City in West London now has a dining complex, while another landmark, Tower Bridge, has gained Prosecco House, a bar dedicated to the Italian fizz.
Hotels
Among new hotel openings, Marriott has opened a Moxy at Heathrow Airport, which has 414 rooms and 23 suites and offers continental breakfasts, an evening bar and a fitness centre.
Another spring addition was The Principal in Bloomsbury, a 334-room hotel in a restored 1898 building. A seafood restaurant and vintage bar are among features.
The historic Belmond Cadogan will meanwhile reopen this winter on prestigious Sloane Square following a multimillion-pound refurbishment. Centrally, a new Indigo on Leicester
Square now features a rooftop pan- Asian restaurant, while the budget Z hotel chain has added a property on Tottenham Court Road. Most ambitious, however, is the work to turn the south wing of ceremonial Admiralty Arch between The Mall and Trafalgar Square into a 100-room five-star hotel. The property, operated by Waldorf Astoria, will offer a spa, fine dining and a ballroom from 2022.
The new V&A photography centre will showcase the museum’s historical image archive
100 of the capital’s tourism associations and businesses including Gatwick Airport, Hilton, attractions brand Merlin Entertainments and Airbnb. Aims include enticing more off-peak visitors (something particularly relevant to Chinese travellers, who have different holiday times to other key markets), showcasing the depth of the city’s cultural offer, and spreading tourists to less-visited areas of the capital. Among proposals are themed months and seasons. There are plans to raise the profile of existing off-peak events and to develop more stadium-based sporting fixtures. Improving visitor information on
London’s culinary diversity and its foodie hotspots, plus better ways to connect tourists with locals, are among other considerations. Better use is likely to be made of technology, including virtual reality, to entice travellers to visit London’s cultural attractions.
Chinese connection In an effort to create more seamless
travel for Chinese tourists, London has joined with Manchester and Birmingham and Chinese travel provider
Qunar.com to launch Experience England. The project, begun this summer with support from the Discover England Fund, will offer tailored packages including flights, hotels and transport for Chinese tourists looking to visit the three cities and make day trips to surrounding areas. West End shopping trips, a VIP visit to Manchester City football club and a tour of Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon are among packages. Weiping He, chief technology officer and vice president of hotel business for Qunar says: “Chinese tourists have
Prosecco House opened this year at Tower Bridge
strong potential for contributing to the growth and development of the tourism industry in England. We hope that through our in-depth cooperation with the Discover England Fund, we will promote more diversified travel products to China.”
wtm.com
Render © David Kohn Architects
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