Tourism forum hears Covid could cost county £1.8bn
A “Round-table” discussion involving council bosses, tourism leaders and industry representatives has been hailed as an important step in the recovery of the area’s visitor economy.
Derbyshire County Council called in representatives from Marketing Peak District and Derbyshire, along with MPS and the owners of some key tourism destinations to discuss the impact of Covid on tourism in the county.
The session was chaired by Councillor Barry Lewis, leader of Derbyshire County Council, and was attended by Jo Dilley, Chief Executive of Marketing Peak District and Derbyshire and representatives from Derbyshire County Council.
The group discussed the potential impact of Covid-19, an estimated loss of £212m this year from business, such as accommodation providers, food and drink and the entertainment sector.
Based on the Office for Budget Responsibility scenarios, Derbyshire’s wider economy could face total losses of £1.8billion or more over 2020.
Areas of focus included licencing hours under a return to tiered restrictions and the benefits of extending the VAT rate change past January next year.
The round-table members resolved to continue to work with the Government on the impact of pandemic restrictions on tourism businesses and measures that could support their survival and recovery.
They also agreed to continue to help local companies to understand and access the support that is on offer to them.
Councillor Lewis said: “We want to make sure that Derbyshire experiences a bounce out of the pandemic in terms of economic recovery, rather than a slow return which could see many of our tourism businesses struggle to survive.
“The support the Government has given to businesses goes a long way but it is certainly the case that our businesses who rely on visitors and people going out – our restaurants, hotels, holiday parks and tourist attractions to name a few – have been hard hit. “There is much we can do together as the voice of Derbyshire to work with Government to help our visitor economy recover.”
The findings from the round-table are feeding into Derbyshire’s rescue, recovery and renewal economic plan which is led by the county council and supported by organisations across the county.