West End footfall bounces back faster than London’s business districts
Visitor numbers in the West End are recovering faster than London’s business districts, the latest footfall data showed.
Parts of the West End have reached more than 50 per cent of pre-Covid movements despite the continued closure of the area’s theatres, boosted by the prevalence of pubs, shops and restaurants.
However footfall in the Holborn and The City remained low at 24 per cent and 20 per cent of pre-coronavirus levels as employees have continued to work from home.
The slow recovery in central London, in contrast with local retail destinations, which are booming, is largely due to fears over public transport use and working in the office.
London’s busiest stations – King’s Cross, Euston, Victoria and Waterloo- are at an average of 25 per cent of movements compared the before the pandemic, according to data from CACI.
Research also found that London accounts for 18 per cent of all retail and food and drink spend in the UK, and 33 per cent of worker spend in the country is from people working in the capital.
CACI director Alex McCulloch said: “Much is being said by a number of leading figures and industry bodies about the plight of central London, which is indicative of the situation in most cities in the UK. These latest numbers, however, which record consumer movements in the weeks schools returned and Eat Out to Help Out finished, show the stark reality.
“While the capital’s local neighbourhoods are clearly thriving in the new term-time reality, central London is a shadow of its former self.
“The cause is clear too; for as long as workers remain at home, the capital, and the rest of the UK’s cities, will struggle to reclaim former footfall.
“In this new consumer reality, the future lives in these cities doing what they do best – evolving and adapting to reflect a less frequent, but potentially more engaged worker.”