Cornwall's staycation boom

Malcolm Bell, the chief executive of Visit Cornwall, Cornwall's tourism board, describes a notable boom in staycations this summer with the beaches being especially busy.

He suggests that on a normal day in August there would be around 175,000 visitors staying in Cornwall, but this summer the amount is closer to 210,000.

At least 30% of households in Cornwall rely on the tourism industry for part or all their yearly income, according to Visit Cornwall. 

With the impact of Covid-19 on the hospitality and tourism sectors, and the national lockdown in 2020, Bell suggests the financial recovery is necessary, but labour supply shortages and the strain on public services have posed a real challenge to local infrastructure. 

He said: “My view is, I think the government and people are wrong to tell people what to do.

"We’ve had hands, face, space rammed down our throats. I think what our message is, it is going to be a bit of a summer of understanding and probably a whole year of understanding. 

"There are labour supply shortages, there are other shortages, unfortunately because of capacity constraints you do have to book ahead. So it is really a case of book ahead or be disappointed. But when you are disappointed because somewhere gets pinged or shut, just understand that nobody is doing this to wind you up. We are doing our very best. 

"Look at the owners, we’ve got people going the extra mile because staff aren’t available or are off."

One of Bell's goals in the strategy for tourism in Cornwall he is drafting is to encourage more visitors to come off-season, so during the winter break.

He identifies four audiences who might enjoy the lower prices in the Winter months: those who are retired, who might not want to go abroad after Covid, and can enjoy the wildlife such as dolphins and whales in the winter; people going on a 'workcation', to get away from 'those four walls'; people who want a break from their families and parents with their friends as 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'; and businesses who want to come down and do their reviews and planning for the following year.

He also expresses the importance of sustainability within tourism in Cornwall, and Cornwall's goal to be the first net-zero county in the UK.

“All tourism in Cornwall should be sustainable and more importantly regenerative.

"Sustainable tourism can sometimes stop at not doing any harm, but tourism can do some good as well."

In terms of an overall message for SWL readers he said: "If you’re coming from London, spend some time just watching the sea, looking out to sea, looking to infinity, and just realising we’re quite a small little creature on this planet really. 

"I think we’ve got a lot of angst and are at times very angry and we all need a bit of time to just slow down and reflect a bit so sit on the beach or sit on the cliffs and believe me after that for a while you will be calmer." 

In the audio clip below you can listen to Bell's recommendations of hidden gems in Cornwall.

[Pictures Credit: Matt Jessop]

Michael Edwards and his wife Janet owned and ran the Atlantic House B&B in the most southernly part of the UK, The Lizard, for around seven years.  

Their B&B was AA Gold rated, featured in the prestigious Wolsey Lodges brochure, and it won the Trip Advisor Travellers’ Choice award this year with five stars. 

However, this month the retired couple sold their property and have moved out of the county. 

“About a third of our customers were repeat customers, because The Lizard is a very special place. When we closed everything down, we had some most wonderful messages back.

“People want to come for their own reasons. Some people want to come to Cornwall so they can have bucket and spade holidays for the kids and live in a caravan, and others want to come out of season where there aren’t any kids around and spend a lovely time walking, and looking at the wildlife, and that’s what we tended to attract on the whole.”

Previously, the couple also ran a B&B in Penzance and have a long experience in the hospitality industry. 

I asked Michael Edwards about tourism in the Summer holidays, and he told me: “Some people bring their urban aggression, and they drive down our Cornish routes. For example, the road from Helston down to The Lizard which has got hardly any places to overtake. But you get people overtaking in stupid places just to get there seventeen seconds earlier than they normally would which is all it boils down to. 

“Then you get people almost coming to blows about a parking space, and you get all of this aggressive driving and being rude to shopkeepers and so on and that won’t do. It’s almost as if Cornwall is here for their pleasure. Cornwall is where people live, and work, and have their life. 

“At the same time, a lot of people simply don’t realise that Cornwall needs the tourists. It’s the backbone of the Cornish economy now that fishing and mining have been knocked on the head, and they’re doing their best to kill off farming as well thanks to Brussels and London. And the tourism, one way or another, supports a lot of families, especially during the height of the season, lots of jobs to be had.

"But come along and behave respectfully towards the place that people live, please. Let’s not be negative and say you mustn’t do this, let’s just say be respectful, people live here.”

Chartered Surveyor Tom O’Donnell started as the managing director of The Point at Polzeath in June this year and has seventeen years of experience in the tourism industry, having previously been managing director for Sykes Holiday Cottages and John Bray Cornish Holidays. 

The Point at Polzeath is a leisure resort in North Cornwall with holiday homes that offer self-catering, a Golf Course, bar, restaurant, and health club all within walking distance of Polzeath beach and Rock beach. 

Recently he has had to help with the hoovering and cleaning due to staff shortages which he notes have made this summer influx of tourists particularly difficult. 

“Hospitality is a really tough industry to be in, and I think that the time people have had to reflect and potentially the growing demand in staycations has lead to people saying, do you know what? It's not worth it. 

“The wages in Cornwall are relatively quite low, especially with the furlough, and it’s made it almost easy for them to say look, no sorry, we’re going to change careers or just take a breath. Staffing is a very challenging subject across the nation at the moment.”

On the situation in Cornwall over the holidays he said: “You get the divide between the locals and the holiday makers which is unpleasant sometimes.”

“To anybody visiting, just respect the local environment. Enjoy in a respectful manner, I would say. And just be patient because everybody is experiencing the same battles across the UK, whether its food shortage, staffing shortage, or just fatigue across the whole nation. We still have it down in Cornwall”

[Picture Credit: The Point at Polzeath]