Struggling tourist sector faces ‘triple whammy’
ADETAILED survey of more than 1,000 businesses has revealed the South West tourist industry lost an eye-watering £3.7 billion in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey lays bare the full impact of Covid-19 on the regional tourism economy during last year for the first time – with the sector plunging by more than half overall.
Now nearly 80% of businesses believe they cannot survive beyond the end of this summer without financial support. Many say they may not survive after March 31, when a ‘triple whammy’ will hit with the end of furlough payments to 166,000 people.
The South West tourism Covid-19 Impact Survey asked if businesses will be able to survive without financial support beyond summer 2021, and only 16% of Cornwall businesses and 18% of Devon businesses currently anticipate they would survive beyond September, 2021.
Industry leaders have given 100% backing to a police warning to visitors to stick to lockdown regulations and stay away – but they revealed the full extent of the financial crisis on the industry.
Alistair Handyside, South West Tourism Alliance chairman, said: “It has been catastrophically devastating. We have already lost a lot. If we go much beyond the end of March, we are going to hit another cliff, because on March 31 furlough ends and the VAT and rates holiday ends.
“What happens on April 1? It will be a triple whammy. There are 166,000 people on furlough in the South West and most of those are in the hospitality industry. If furlough is not extended, the impact will be disastrous.”
Businesses say they are “haemorrhaging money”. The Big Sheep owner, Rick Turner, revealed that he has just paid £50,000 for compulsory annual health and safety checks on rollercoasters and rides that were only used for 9% of last yea, while a South West coach holiday operator is paying £16,000 a week to a bank for outstanding loans on a fleet of almost brand-new £40,000 coaches.
Mr Turner, who runs North Devon’s biggest attraction, admitted: “It’s the uncertainty that is incredibly stressful.
“Easter is critical for us – it will cost us £300,000 not to open at Easter. It will be devastating if we don’t open, now we have lost half-term.”
ASECTION of railway track in north Cornwall upgraded at a cost of £3 million will help to provide a more reliable line for passengers for years to come, says Network Rail.
The track has been renewed on the St Ives Bay line between Carbis Bay and St Ives – the coastal strip which will be hosting world leaders for the G7 summit this June.
Work has been carried out over the past five weeks in what Network Rail has described as its biggest track investment in Cornwall since the 1950s. It involved laying around 1.5 miles of new track and installing 3,600 new sleepers and over 400 tonnes of new ballast supporting the track, and the completion of the project saw the line open on Monday.
Network Rail says its engineers worked day and night to complete the scheme. To minimise disruption to residents living near to the railway electric and solar lighting was used which is silent and uses no diesel.
Lee Hildreth, Network Rail project manager, said: “We are delighted to have completed our work on the St Ives bay line which marks the biggest track upgrade in the county for over 60 years.
“Despite a number of challenges, particularly the severe weather Cornwall has faced over the past month, it is really pleasing to have finished this important work which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the local community by helping to provide a more reliable railway for passengers in Cornwall.
“We would like to thank the local community for their patience while we have completed this work.”
Mark Chorley, GWR regional station manager, West, said: “We are pleased to resume train services on the St Ives Bay line today after a five-week period of upgrades. The work will help to keep our services on the branch line running reliably and provide a smoother ride for our customers.
“While Network Rail upgraded the line, we continued to keep our customers moving, but with a longer, road journey. We thank them for their patience during this time and look forward to welcoming them back on board our trains.”
The train operator has been providing rail services at a reduced level throughout the pandemic and says it has worked to ensure these are as safe as possible. This includes increased cleaning regimes, extra staff at key stations to offer help and guidance, and processes in place to help customers maintain a safe distance where possible, such as restricting the number of reservations.
Richard Burningham, chair of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, said: “We greatly welcome Network Rail’s investment in the St Ives Bay line which is really important for the local economy, particularly at St Ives and Carbis Bay but for west Cornwall more widely. It’s a very busy line – in 2019 more than 660,000 journeys were made on the line – and it will hopefully be just as busy, if not busier, when Covid restrictions are lifted.”
Derek Thomas, MP for St Ives West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: “I have the great honour of welcoming the G7 summit later this year and the focus will be recovering from Covid and how we can deliver a low carbon green economy. That is why the investment in the St Ives Bay line is so welcome and so important because all of us will be thinking about reducing journeys on road and how we can use the railway more.”