Interview Time - Visit London
Louise Alexander from Visit London
1. Who's your favourite Muppet character?
Definitely Animal. I like that noise he used to make!
2. What is Visit London to you - in ten words or less?
The most dynamic and exciting marketing organisation for London.
3. Now in as many words as you like, what do you think Visit London is for the millions of tourists who pass through the British capital every year?
First and foremost we're the official source of information on London, so we provide unbiased information which helps people to make choices about how to get the most out of the city. Visitlondon.com is also an excellent portal for booking tickets, accommodation and much, much more. We also market London to visitors all over the world so hopefully we're a source of inspiration – for them to come and visit.
4. And how did you become enthralled with Visit London?
I've always loved travelling so it's lovely to be working within the tourism industry. I'm a real London girl as well. My family are from London and I've always lived in the city so it's great to put my skills to use – working for an organisation that represents my home.
5. The Lonely Planet guys have recently been directing visitors towards little know attractions such as Dennis Severs' house - where all the rooms are artistic, tailor made - time capsules. What would be your best, off the beaten track, recommendations?
There's so many of them! One of our remits is to make everyone aware of the smaller ones which are a bit hidden – right across the city, not just in central London but further out too. The Horniman Museum is really good – a really fascinating museum which has some really excellent exhibitions for kids. It's a collection of all sorts of items from all around the world. It's in Lewisham so the best way to get there is overland rail.
The parks are good too. I like Bushy Park because it's near to Hampton Court Palace.
6. What's the most bizarre thing that you've experienced – working for Visit London?
We had quite an interesting trip around South London. It was winter, freezing cold and pouring with rain,, but unfortunately for us most of the trip was outdoors to see lesser known attractions such as the Crystal Palace dinosaurs.
I also went up the viewing tower to see the site of the 2012 Olympics Park, which was interesting. It was a real surprise to how much of the area is going to have such a big impact. I saw the different plans for the different stadiums - where the events are going to be held. You could see the different stations, how they're going to be connected and how the infrastructure's going to be massively improved. There's going to be a lot of regeneration – not just with sporting facilities, but also walkways, rail connections and open spaces.
7. If you had to single out an area of the city that had the most character, what would it be and why?
For me it's definitely the East End. I love the history of it. It's one of the most vibrant and dynamic areas – with regard to modern urban culture and yet it's got a fascinating history. There's a history of immigration there and there's a history of architecture, with the docks and the wharfs. There's something very earthy about it. Specifically – along the river. It's had a great renaissance.
8. What are the big projects - currently in the Visit London pipeline?
Well basically we're preparing for after the Olympic hand over in Beijing. Obviously the world's attention will be turned to us as the host city and we've got a big campaign launching in September that will have a strong cultural focus. A big part of the Olympics is the bringing together of different cultures and it's not just about the sport. You can apply the Olympic values to everything. We're working to make sure that anything going on in London - in the four years of the cultural Olympiad, is promoted.
9. One of your side projects is the Itchy Feet Magazine, an online travel magazine. What's the background to this?
It was really just me and my friend. We'd both done quite a bit of travelling and we both enjoyed writing, and taking photos as well. At first it began as a way of showing off our tales and images to our friends - and then it kicked off and spiralled from there. It's done completely in our spare time and it's published every two months. We're currently working on issue 18 and we have contributors from all over the world.
10. And what has been your favourite feature in the magazine so far?
We ran a little series which we called motivational travel - which was about travelling not just for travel's sake. We covered everything from volunteering and learning languages abroad, to trekking for charity and getting involved with local communities. My friend Holly for example, hiked the Inca Trail in aid of Cancer Research.
11. In one of your articles you quote T.S. Elliot's famous musing about the importance of the journey, not the arrival. What is it about the transit between locations that draws you in?
I think it's nice just to savour the journey and I think in today's modern world, everything is done so quickly. It's all about getting from A to B as fast as possible. It's lovely to be able to step outside your door and say your holiday begins there – to leave your daily life behind you and enjoy your holiday from the moment it begins. The other thing is that when you're flying somewhere, you see that little map in the back of the seat and you think to yourself, I'm passing through all these incredible countries – but you're so high up you can't see anything below. If you're travelling by train for example, there's the whole hop on, hop off thing which is great if you have the luxury of the time and the resources, to be able to do that.
12. And on said journeys, what would be your top five books - to keep you company?
- To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
- Brick Lane – Monica Ali
- A Rough Guide or Lonely Planet about the place I'm travelling to.
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J. K. Rowling
- Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
13. And finally – if you had the power to delete one, irritating, pointless celebrity from the annals of history – who would it be?
Kerry Katona – she's quite annoying.
- Rob Savage
