Free flights for children on BA domestic routes, half-price hotel rooms and discounts on entry to visitor attractions are among a range of offers being used to entice visitors back to London. The Great London Deals campaign is designed to boost last-minute bookings for short breaks to the capital following a downturn in tourism after 11 September.

Offers will be included on a new website - www.greatlondondeals.co.uk - and include two nights for the price of one at Holiday Inn's London hotels; two-for-one entry to English Heritage properties in the capital; free flights for children on BA flights from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Newcastle and Manchester to Heathrow or Gatwick booked before 31 March; a two-for-one deal on all National Express coach routes to London for travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 16 April and 26 June; and reduced admission charges at visitor attractions including Madame Tussaud's, the Tower of London and Shakespeare's Globe for passengers buying a day return rail ticket.

The campaign was launched by the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, following a report by his London Tourist Action Group found that 36 per cent of respondents specified cost as the main barrier to visiting London. 'It is clear that price is a key factor for UK tourists choosing a holiday or short break destinations. The campaign has generated millions of pounds worth of offers to encourage people to take advantage of the best that London has to offer,' he said.

A survey by consultancy PFK showed that London hotel occupancy rates dropped below 80 per cent for the first time in eight years last year, to 72.9 per cent.