South London Tourism

South London covers the boroughs of Merton, Richmond, Bromley, Croydon, Sutton and Kingston.

The South London area is home to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, Hampton Court Palace, Richmond, Wimbledon and Chessington World of Adventures. It has some of London's larger shopping centres, such as Kingston upon Thames and Croydon, as well as large areas of countryside and parks, including Richmond Park. There are 'hidden gems' such as Charles Darwin's home at Down House and the Thai Bhuddist 'Bhuddapadipa' temple in Wimbledon.

Achievements during 2007 -2008

Some of the achievements in South London during include:

• Darwin at Downe. In 2006 we supported the UK bid for World Heritage Site status at Darwin’s home and surrounding countryside (his 'open-air laboratory') in the borough of Bromley. The London Development Agency has been supporting the Darwin at Downe partnership in performing the difficult balancing act between facilitating visitor access to the site, whilst ensuring protection of the sensitive local environment. This has included completing an overall Visitor Management Plan, plus a Visitor Survey to understand visitor movements, motivations and satisfaction levels. An Interpretation Plan will be developed during 2008.
• South London Itineraries. A set of ten new itineraries has been commissioned to encourage visitors to explore the South London area. They are designed for use by Visit London, boroughs, attractions and accommodation businesses, and will be completed in summer 2008.
• South London Photography. We have commissioned new up-to-date images of the South London area for use by public and private-sector marketing organisations.
• Business Tourism. Following completion of the South London Business Tourism Study, ongoing support is being given to business leaders in the Richmond and Croydon areas, to assist them in working together to raise the profile of their destinations.
• New Markets for Tourism. A successful  'Tourism Emerging Markets' event was organised in March 2008 at Richmond Theatre to provide businesses with the latest information and intelligence from the wider industry. A programme of further, similar events will be implemented in the coming year.

For further information please contact Alex Smith, alexsmith@lda.gov.uk.