Let’s get British tourism motoring
One saving grace of the coronavirus disaster has been the weather. For weeks, much of the country has basked in unseasonably warm and sunny conditions, with the highest temperatures since last August recorded in the South on Wednesday. Inevitably, as a Bank Holiday approaches, wind and rain are forecast, at least in the North and West. But summer is around the corner and traditionally the tourist industry would now be taking its first tentative steps out of its long hibernation.
But this year, as with so much of the rest of the economy, the immediate future is bleak. With the possibilities of overseas travel circumscribed by the 14-day quarantine to be imposed by the Government on returnees, it might be thought that a bumper year beckons for British tourist spots. Yet many of them do not want visitors. Scotland remains closed, as does Wales, where police are still turning back motorists who drive across the border from England.
Just as many people are prepared to go out and enjoy the sunshine, as in Bournemouth this week, many others remain trapped by fear and alarm. Those seeking sun and ozone were denounced as “Covidiots”, the favoured insult of the pandemic, even though transmission outdoors is negligible.
In order to get back up and running, tourist areas not only have to drop their objections to incomers, but also to hope the demand will still be there when they do. Even then, their difficulties are not over. If social-distancing rules continue then bars, hotels, cafes and tourist attractions such as fairs and adventure parks will need to operate at lower capacity, perhaps a half or less of normal. This will render many of them unviable.
Patricia Yates, the chief executive of Visit Britain, told MPS this week that usual business may not resume for two years, which, given the importance of holiday tourism for some parts of the country, like the South West, is a calamity for the local economies. She estimated that £22 billion would be wiped from the industry’s £80 billion annual domestic value – and that may be underplaying it.
The earlier the Government can reassure people that it is perfectly safe to go on holiday, the quicker these areas can recover. The first thing it can do is to reduce the two-metre social-distancing rule to one metre, which is the World Health Organisation recommendation. That might help restore some of the confidence that is sorely needed.