Encouraging news that West tourist towns are bouncing back

NO industry in the Westcountry can have suffered such significant setbacks during pandemic lockdowns as the hospitality and leisure sector.

From visitor attractions and holiday resorts to hotels, tourist shops and restaurants – not forgetting the myriad suppliers and staff that keep the wheels of this multi-million pound industry turning here in the West – the knock-on effects of Covid restrictions were far-reaching, cut deep and in some cases proved catastrophic.

So it is encouraging news that footfall in prime coastal hotspots appears to be getting back to levels seen before the pandemic struck in 2020.

The 2021 boom in ‘staycations’ as overseas travel was curbed certainly encouraged people to visit the Westcountry – many for the first time – to enjoy the our stunning scenery and typically warm welcome.

And this summer has seen large numbers return, buoyed by fine weather and perhaps still wary of the cost and complications of overseas travel – which was hit by significant disruption at airports earlier this year.

A survey of visitor numbers by Place Informatics has identified those areas which are bouncing back, and reveals three locations are riding high in the South West: Newquay, Sidmouth and Kingsbridge.

The best performing town in the region was Newquay, which saw post-Covid visitor numbers in July 2022 match the level seen before the pandemic. And Sidmouth and Kingsbridge in Devon were almost back to the levels recorded in 2019, before the Government limited travel during the pandemic to curb the spread of the virus.

The month of May this year delivered the strongest recovery across the UK when compared with 2019, but figures in July dropped back slightly, which the Place Informatics report put down to “the extreme heatwave in the third week of the month, train strikes and potentially the impact of the cost-of-living crisis”.

Data on visitor numbers is useful and, in this case, encouraging. But the devil is always in the detail – why are visitors making the choices they do? What are they doing when they do come? And what would encourage them to return? Fortunately, these days, feedback is everywhere, from online reviews to website comments. Sifting through the mass of information may be time-consuming, but is of real value in understanding exactly what it is that visitors like, or don’t like, about holidaying in the Westcountry. The more that is gleaned about tourists’ motivations, the more the Westcountry’s ‘offer’ can be finely honed to ensure people keep on coming back for more – whatever the weather.

For towns and villages across the Westcountry which rely on tourism income, the more facts to hand, the more accurately services and promotions can be targeted, and the quicker the Covid downturn can be put behind us.