Transport for London (TfL) is promoting its services over the festive period by declaring this Christmas “too big to miss”.
Following its recent revival in passenger numbers, TfL points out that there has been a particular increase at London Underground stations which are close to Christmas attractions.
The retail and hospitality sectors call the run-up to Christmas the ‘Golden Quarter', and many businesses make a signfiicant proportion of their annual profits during this time. TfL's figures show that Londoners and visitors use public transport network to visit the capital's retail outlet and festive events.
Three examples are:
- Oxford Circus station saw and entries and exits 27 per cent higher on Black Friday than the average for the previous four Fridays (24 November: 216,960; 17 November: 177,214; 10 November: 165,389; 3 November: 172,102; 27 October: 168,714).
- On Saturday 4 November, when the Battersea Park Fireworks display took place, passengers made 52,814 at the nearest Tube stop, Battersea Power Station on the Northern line. This was nearly double the 27,460 exits and entrances on the previous Saturday.
- When Kew Gardens began its Christmas at Kew eventson Wednesday 15 November, the first three days saw a 53 per cent increase in entries and exits compared with the same three weekdays the previous week.
The Heart of London Business Alliance data has also revealed that footfall on Saturday 25 November, the day after Black Friday, was 29 per cent higher than the previous Saturday average in November.
TfL and Visit London have launched a new Tube map, with the title, ‘A Christmas Too Big to Miss'. The map highlights the locations of festive attractions and their distance from Tube stations, alongside the usual infiormation about accessibility.
A recent TfL report showed that the number of bus passengers between January and October 2023 exceeded the previous year's number by eight per cent. TfL asserts that buses continue to be a cost-effective way to travel over the festive period, pointingout that the Hopper fare offers unlimited bus and tram journeys within an hour.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called the Superloop, which was launched in July, a ‘game-changer' for bus travel. Two more routes were added to the suburban network earlier this week. TfL data shows a 62 per cent rise in weekly passengers on the SL7 route (West Croydon to Heathrow) since it joined the Superloop network, doubling in frequency to four buses an hour in each direction. Most other Superloop routes have seen increases in passenger numbers greater than the six per cent year-on-year increase across London's seven hundred bus routes.
Shaftesbury Capital, which owns Seven Dials and Covent Garden, recently revealed an increase in visitors of twelve per cent year-on-year. The area suffered a drop in visitors after the pandemic, but now has a footfall 16 per cent above 2019 levels. A new pop-up shop opened in Carnaby Street earlier in December as part of the Mayor's innovative ‘London Made Me' retail training and shop programme, and has given twelve creative entrepreneurs the chance to launch their own collective retail store for the festive period.
London's nightlife remains strong, and, despite changes in work patterns, Friday and Saturday are still the most popular nights for travelling into central London. Night Tube and Night Overground services carry around sixty thousand journeys on Friday nights between 00:30 and 04:30, and nearly seventy thousand between the same hours on Saturday nights.
Night Time Enterprise Zones, such as Bromley High Street , have seen a significant increase in visitors after 21:00. Vauxhall has had twenty-eight per cent more visitors for events, and Woolwich twenty-three per cent more.
More information about London's festive attractions and how to get to them by public transport is available from Transport for London here.
Sadiq Khan said, “We have worked really hard so that London could roar back after the pandemic, and Christmas this year in the capital is set to be one simply too big to miss. From ice skating to Winter Wonderland, there's a vast array of festive attractions to choose from and a special Christmas Tube map to help you get there.
“London is also one of the world's best retail destinations, and it's great to see that promotions such as Black Friday and Small Business Saturday were huge successes. Businesses need our help now more than ever, and I continue to call on the Government to reinstate tax free shopping for international visitors, which would give a much needed boost to businesses and high streets across the country.
“Whether you're doing some Christmas shopping, visiting a festive attraction or attending a gig, I encourage Londoners and visitors alike to get out there this Christmas and experience everything the city has to offer.”
Andy Lord, London's Transport Commissioner, said: ”With London's cultural and social calendar having truly sprung back this year, it's set to be a Christmas you can't miss. There's a host of events in central London to mark the festive season and we're also encouraging Londoners and visitors this year to look outside central London and check out events on their doorstep, as well as the wonderful range of free events. Wherever you choose to go, you can rely on TfL services to help you get there and make the most of your trip, and on our up-to-date, easy-to-access information to help you enjoy all the festive fun in London.”
Amy Lamé, London's Night Czar, said: “London's nightlife is the best in the world and this festive season there's more than ever on offer to enjoy- and the Night Tube, Night Overground and Night buses will help you get home! It's fantastic to see London roaring back from the pandemic with so many people visiting Christmas attractions and our world-class shops. The ‘Golden Quarter' is a vital time for our hospitality businesses and I urge Londoners and visitors to try out somewhere new this Christmas, whether it be a pop-up shop, a new restaurant or a festive club night.”
Laura Citron, CEO at London & Partners, which runs Visit London, said: “London's iconic festive season is already in full swing, with countless ice rinks, light displays, shows, and events across the city to get visitors in the Christmas spirit. With all-new attractions like Kingdom of Winter, the biggest indoor festive experience in the city and Wishmas, a unique immersive walkthrough experience, it's set to be a London Christmas too big to miss this year. We're delighted to be welcoming more visitors this year as people flock to the city to experience London at one of its most popular and exciting seasons.
“We're excited to be launching our ‘A Christmas Too Big To Miss' campaign and Tube map, highlighting the biggest, brightest, and boldest things to do in London in celebration of the festive season.”
Hannah Essex, Co-CEO of SOLT & UK Theatre, said: “After a difficult few years for establishments that rely on tourism, it is encouraging to see the city bustling with visitors this Christmas. London theatre is a key driver for tourism in the capital, and its audiences boost local economies. For every £1 spent on a theatre ticket, an additional spend of £1.40 is generated in surrounding businesses, adding up to £1.94bn per annum of extra value added to local economies by theatre audiences.
“The West End has shown a robust recovery since the pandemic, helped by the incredible re-invention and resilience of our members, but it is a mixed picture. There are challenges that still face the sector, not least continually rising production costs, but despite this we are seeing the green shoots of recovery, thanks to the amazing range of world class productions hosted in London and across the country.”
Dee Corsi, Chief Executive, New West End Company, said: “The festive season is well and truly underway in the West End, with the Black Friday weekend driving the period's first significant peak in footfall. We forecast a marginal year-on-year boost in consumer spending this year, reflecting the West End's reputation, particularly at Christmastime, of facilitating unique experiences which simply cannot be found online.
“HMV, the latest addition to Oxford Street, is itself a symbol of the transformation of physical retail in recent years. The new store, which opened to much fanfare on Black Friday, is designed to offer the very best of experiential retail, promising a programme of live gigs and signings throughout the year.
“The continued draw of physical retail was evident across the Black Friday weekend, which saw queues of shoppers waiting in line to snap up the best deals. Little wonder then that the Saturday was the West End's busiest day of 2023 so far. In what is a milestone for the district, the Saturday was also able to reach pre-pandemic footfall levels – coming in slightly higher than the Saturday after Black Friday in 2019.
“The buzz of Black Friday weekend sets a positive tone for the rest of the festive trading period, welcome news for businesses across the West End for whom the next few weeks are absolutely critical. We know that the sheer breadth of the West End's offering is the reason for its enduring appeal, and visitors to the district this Christmas will also be able to enjoy a plethora of festive experiences as they do their shopping, from the dazzling Christmas lights to the West End's very first ice-rink.”
Ros Morgan, Chief Executive of Heart of London Business Alliance, said: “Visitors are returning to the West End ahead of the festive period, with businesses, theatres and other attractions in the heart of London working hard to deliver for them.
“However, visitor numbers are yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. That is why we continue to push for policies to encourage people to visit London, such as tax-free shopping for international visitors and long-term strategic funding for TfL to improve transport infrastructure.”
