Mayor leads high-level Liverpool City Region mission to US aimed at driving trade, investment and tourism

• Packed schedule of meetings with civic and business leaders in Boston, New York and North Carolina
• Mission to emphasise shared history and expand cultural links
• Mayor to lay flowers at New York Memorial to John Lennon
• US is city region’s largest export market, highest source of overseas investment and second most valuable visitor market
• Mission is ‘investment in city region’s future prosperity’

Mayor Steve Rotheram is to lead a high-level mission to the United States aimed at driving tens of millions of pounds of long-term investment, trade and tourism to the Liverpool City Region.

The Mayor will embark on a packed schedule of meetings with civic and business leaders in Boston and New York aimed at promoting the city region as an innovation powerhouse primed for investment and as a must-visit cultural, sports and events destination, visited by more than 60 million people each year.

The US is Liverpool City Region’s largest export market worth £1.8bn a year and is the biggest source of overseas investment, with huge opportunities to increase trade and tourism.

A series of meetings with US health-tech leaders and major biotechnology companies will be aimed at securing investment and collaboration in the city region’s thriving £5bn health and life sciences sector.

City region cultural leaders will join the Mayor in New York for meetings and events aimed at building on the regions’ shared histories and forging closer ties to help drive tourism. The Mayor will also lay flowers at the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon in New York’s Central Park.

Mayor Steve Rotheram said:

“This mission is an important and necessary investment in the Liverpool City Region’s future prosperity and for UK PLC.

“The US is already our largest export market and a major source of foreign direct investment, creating jobs and wealth in our city region.

“We have strong links through our shared histories and our unrivalled music, sport and culture attracts tens of thousands of US visitors each year.

“The potential to grow our ties and all the benefits it would bring to both sides is huge, but we need to be having the right conversations with the right people and letting our friends in the US know that Liverpool City Region is not just world famous for its port, sport and culture but also home to world-leading innovation and world-class facilities.

“This mission is about sowing the seeds for future investment, collaboration and economic growth. I’ve pledged to boost foreign direct investment by 25%, creating jobs and prosperity for local people, and I’m determined to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

The Mayor will arrive in the US after attending the Bloomberg CityLab Summit in Mexico City, along with 500 mayors and leading policymakers, innovators and creatives from across the world.

Arriving in Boston on October 17, Mayor Rotheram will enter a hectic schedule of meetings with life science, tourism, events and maritime industry leaders to discuss potential collaborations and investment opportunities and to promote the city region as the best place to invest and grow a business.

He will meet Mayor of Cambridge Denise Simmons to discuss potential health and life science links in a city that’s home to innovation powerhouses Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In New York, the focus will shift to culture and tourism with Mayor Rotheram hosting music and Beatles-themed discussions in Central Park. The meeting will also explore Birkenhead Park’s inspiration for Central Park and their bids for World Heritage Status.

Liverpool has a rich shared history with the United States and was the exit port for millions of people emigrating to America during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

A special reception will be staged at the Museum of the City of New York to strengthen cultural ties and will include a lecture by National Museums Liverpool Director Laura Pye about ‘A Transatlantic journey – Liverpool to New York’.

With Liverpool City Region aiming to build its thriving major events sector, the Mayor will visit both Boston Convention and Exhibition Centre and New York Convention Centre to discuss the power of business events for inward investment. The talks will also explore opportunities to partner over global events.

Director of Culture Liverpool Claire McColgan CBE said:

“Our historic cultural links with New York are well documented from Cunard through to the Beatles but I am really interested in the future potential of our two cities’ relationship. The USA is a target market for tourism, and we need to accelerate this growth over the next five years by developing creative and innovative content together.

“I’m delighted that Head of Diversity for UK Music Eunice Obianagha is with us alongside Head of UNESCO City of Music Kevin McManus. We have high-level conversations booked in with music leaders in New York to start thinking not just of tourism links but creative industry and education ones. These conversations will start a really important strategic relationship building to the 250th anniversary of the founding of America in 2026.”

Laura Pye, Director of National Museums Liverpool, said:

“We welcome huge numbers of international visitors to National Museums Liverpool’s venues every year, and a significant proportion of these are from the USA, drawn to our world class collections and unforgettable stories.

“Liverpool’s waterfront is home to our Maritime Museum, Museum of Liverpool and International Slavery Museum, the first and only museum in the world dedicated to the transatlantic slave trade. All three have profound connections to the history and culture of the US and it is wonderful to have this opportunity to celebrate and deepen these links.

“I am looking forward to sharing our ground-breaking plans for our Waterfront Transformation Project, an ambitious scheme that will link storytelling, heritage, community and hospitality through all three museums and surrounding public realm. This is an exciting time for our historic waterfront and the perfect moment to reach out to our colleagues in New York and USA to welcome on this journey.”

The New York leg will finish with a visit to Mt Sinai Hospital’s Center for Engineering and Precision Medicine to discuss innovation opportunities.

The Mayor will return to the UK, while a smaller delegation heads to North Carolina, which with a GDP of $550bn – approximately the same as Sweden – was named ‘America’s top state for business’ in a study for CNBC last year.

The state signed a pact with the UK government in July 2022 aimed at streamlining trade and investment and laying a framework for increased cooperation in areas such as clean tech and energy infrastructure.

The North Carolina leg of the mission features visits to leading biotech firms and Duke University’s School of Medicine, which is one of the country’s leading institutions for health professions and biomedical education, clinical care, biomedical research, and community partnership. They will also meet the Mayor of Durham.

Accounting for a nearly a fifth of all exports, valued at £1.8bn of goods and services, the US is the Liverpool City Region’s biggest overseas market.

The US is also Liverpool City Region’s largest market for inward investment with US-owned companies investing £2.1bn into the local economy.

Nationally, the US is the UK’s top tourism market for both spend and volume with leisure visitors staying an average of seven nights and spending more than £1,400 each. The New York Tri-State metropolitan area accounts for around 14% of US visitors to the UK alone.

Research shows key UK attractions are culture, heritage, history, sports, vibrant cities and coastal scenery.

The delegation includes senior representatives from the city region’s Health and Life Sciences sector, including the University of Liverpool and Health Innovation North West Coast, as well as leaders from Culture Liverpool, National Museums Liverpool, ACC Liverpool and UK Music.

Professor Iain Buchan, Director of Civic Health Innovation Labs (CHIL), and W.H. Duncan Chair in Public Health Systems and Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Innovation, University of Liverpool said:

“I’m delighted to be meeting with international colleagues to continue the University’s work in developing global partnerships and tackling global health challenges.

“As an institution, momentum builds towards our 150th anniversary in 2031 and this trip to the US helps us develop our strategic partnerships focused on increasing the global impact and reputation of our research and education.”