Telling tourists to avoid Cornwall is madness, say business owners
THE Cornish tourist board’s plans to ease overcrowding at beauty spots by no longer promoting them has been condemned as “madness”.
Business owners near Porthcurno beach, on Cornwall’s south coast, near Land’s End, responded angrily to news that Visit Cornwall would advertise neither their area nor Kynance Cove.
The heatwave has led to a bumper year for tourism in the county, with visitor numbers up by some 20 per cent.
Malcolm Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall, said “redistribution” of tourism to quieter areas could relieve pressure on hotspots.
However, Mick Wilby, 67, a Porthcurno pub owner, suggested newer residents had whipped up a storm over nothing. He said: “As a business person and for Cornwall on the whole, this is a year you pray for.
“We have lost the fishing, we have lost our farming, Cornwall is a holiday destination, that is its revenue.”
Spencer Green, 50, who owns Porthcurno Beach Café, agreed, saying: “We are in the midst of Brexit and we are telling people ‘don’t stay in your own country’. It’s madness, in my mind.”
Mr Bell told The Daily Telegraph: “We have a wealth of beaches in Cornwall and I don’t apologise for helping visitors not get stuck in a traffic jam and helping local people live their lives.”
SIR – I sympathise with Adele Burns, who is suing a beauty salon for failing to provide her with a front-facing basin during a lengthy hair-washing session: a failure that she claims led her to suffer a stroke (report, August 7).
I stopped going to hairdressing salons in 1980, as I found leaning backwards to have my hair washed too uncomfortable. I have cut my own hair ever since, saving a small fortune in the process. Anne Whalley
Penzance, Cornwall
SIR – Fifty years ago, while I was in Changi, Singapore with the WRAF, having a shampoo was blissful.
One stretched out on a bed made from the same material as plastic straws, woven around a metal frame. This was slightly raised at the head for comfort. The water fell through the gaps into a basin or the drain below.
I have suggested to several salons that this be adopted, to no avail. Dorothy Morgan
Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire