Leisure, tourism and hospitality

Welcome to London’s most attractive borough, Richmond upon Thames which is only 20 minutes from Waterloo Station and 50 minutes from the Olympic Park.

For hundreds of years it has been a favourite retreat of royalty, the rich and the famous. The River Thames runs through the heart of the borough for 21 miles linking Hampton Court Palace, Richmond town centre and Kew Gardens with central London. With 2 beautiful royal parks, Richmond Park and Bushy Park, historic houses, theatres, museums and galleries rich with exhibits and town centres bursting with shops, restaurants, pubs and hotels Richmond upon Thames rivals anywhere in London.

Key facts

Richmond upon Thames has the highest employment in the tourism sector within South London with 12% of the Borough's workforce (8,600 people) employed in tourism related jobs, significantly higher than the 8% national proportion.

The main distinctive feature is the number of museums, historical sites, botanical gardens providing tourism-related employment, providing over 12% of the total in the sector (1,000 jobs) compared with the proportion of 2% in England and 3% in London.

There were 770 business units in the sector in 2008, including prestigious locations such as Hampton Court Palace, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Ham House and Garden, Marble Hill House plus hotels and numerous visitor destinations.

Key opportunities

With Richmond upon Thames’s established visitor economy, there has never been a better time to expand into Richmond upon Thames.

• The 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games bringing visitors to the key heritage sites and tranquil setting the Borough offers
• The 2015 Rugby World Cup will bring further investment into the borough
• Proximity to London and Heathrow Airport
• No congestion charges and cheaper hotel prices than central London
• Scope for growth in provision of bed spaces in particular high quality and boutique hotels to meet extra demand
• Cultural and heritage reputation of the Borough
• High spending power of local residents and visitors to the Borough

Where to find out more

To find out more about the Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality sector in the borough and receive a copy of the inward investment pack by email to invest@richmond.gov.uk or 08456 122 660 to speak with a member of the team.

Visit www.visitrichmond.co.uk for more ideas of what to see and do in Richmond upon Thames.

For a local business viewpoint, read the testimonials page.

You can find out more facts about the profile of different town and village centres review the property offer for the borough and search for available commercial properties on the property database.

To find out about other support for your business around the borough visit our business support organisations page.