Tourism firms determined to bounce back
“WE WILL bounce back” - that is the message from Calderdale’s tourism sector as it counts the cost of the coronavirus outbreak.
The enforced lockdown has hit the borough’s tourism businesses hard, with hotels and attractions seeing customer numbers plummet as people stay indoors.
But business owners in the tourism trade say that, while times are tough, they are optimistic they will come out of the other side of the pandemic.
Joseph Farrar, general manager at the Holdsworth House Hotel, said: “Inevitably this pandemic will have a huge impact on us not just in the short term but over the next two to three years. I feel that we will see a raft of closures within the hospitality and tourism sector but I do think that tourism in Calderdale will bounce back. We have seen such a boom over the last few years and particularly in the last 12 months on the back of the success of Gentleman Jack.
“There is so much for Calderdale to offer and it will be important that we champion that throughout this time and then once again when we are out the other side.”
Susan Stevens, who coowns Shire Cruises in Sowerby Bridge, said: ““We have customers who come from Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and I’ve had to cancel them because they can’t get here, so we need
CLOSED FOR NOW: Shibden Mill Inn in the Shibden Valley
people to stay at home on their holidays and have a great time in their own country.”
Max Heaton, from the Shibden Mill Inn, said: “It is unfortunately a very scary time for everybody in the tourism sector, mainly because we don’t know how long we will be closed. We are determined to try and make sure that we are in a position to re-open when the time is right. We have worked very hard to establish our business and we will work even harder to keep it.”
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