'Shabbiness hitting tourist trade'

Ken Livingstone has attacked London's "shabby" hotels and down-at-heel shopping thoroughfares for holding back the vital tourist trade.

Oxford Street and Regent Street were lambasted by the Mayor for their "appalling" appearance and described as being no longer worthy of their world-wide reputation.

Inadequate and poor value-for-money medium-range hotels are also hampering the tourism industry's recovery after a terrible 2001, he warned the parliamentary tourism committee last night.

In a blunt description of the ? 9billion industry's failings, Mr Livingstone said that rival European capitals will lure tourists away from London unless it goes more "upmarket".

The comments came as London Tourist Board, a partner in the Mayor's £4million tourism rescue package, launches a £500,000 marketing blitz around Britain today. It is aimed at encouraging domestic visitors to London to plug the £1billion drop in overseas visitor spending caused by a strong pound, foot and mouth and 11 September.

Mr Livingstone told MPs and peers: "Regent Street and Oxford Street were world premier shopping ports of call. That is not the case any more. It is in an appalling state down there, apart from Selfridges which is giving the lead with a new development. We have lived in the past for too long."

Regent Street owner Crown Estates has acknowledged the need for improvements by announcing a £500 million refurbishment of the street's Twenties facades as part of a scheme to attract top retailers from abroad.

After the 11 September hijackings sales in shops in central London were down by up to 50 per cent and restaurants near-empty, the committee heard. Perhaps the most graphic example of the slump was the 50 per cent drop in commercial refuse collected by Westminster council.

Mr Livingstone said: "What could have been the biggest economic crisis for London if those figures were sustained has been overturned. But we are not out of the woods yet."

Much depends on when US and Japanese visitors' return in their usual large numbers, the LTB's Teresa Wickham told the committee.

The lack of funding given to the capital's tourist trade was also stressed. Mr Livingstone called for more landmark projects in London to attract tourists. A £5million "UKOK" campaign by the British Tourist Authority aims to recover at least half of the £1 billion lost to London's tourist businesses.

Town to tear a strip off its mayor