Concerns About Tourists/2nd Home Owners Visiting At Easter

[EternalOptimist7]

I am lucky enough to live in Cornwall. Things are getting better ( actually we have had some of the lowest Covid death figures in the country) but I do worry that the floodgates will open in the next school holidays. It’s such a difficult situation because Cornwall is a poor county & gets a lot of income from tourism & we have to think of the economy. But equally, loads of people coming down on holiday could set things back. Second home owners are a whole different ballgame. I am aware that feelings are running high. Just wondering what people’s thoughts are, whether you are local or not.

But it had little effect, COVID wise, and we came out in tier 1.

I don't understand why, but surely its a good omen for this season? We shouldn't be repeating last year's arguments without good evidence?

I will be coming down to a quiet part of Devon with my adult children on 12 April and will be venturing into Cornwall some days as the border is only about 5 miles away.

None of us have ever had Covid. I have had the first dose of vaccine. My children haven't, but they have hardly left the house (other than for walks) since they returned here at Christmas. Covid infection rates in our local area are very similar to those in Cornwall at the moment - there is less than 1%age point in it.

We will spend money in local shops and on takeaways, but while doing so we will obey the rules on social distancing and wear masks. We will spend most of our time walking on empty cliffs and beaches. You have nothing to fear from our visit.

@Thidwick do you think this relates only to Cornwall though, or to every part of the British coast and every National Park? Should everyone who has the misfortune not to be born in a coastal or rural place be banned for accessing them? There have been lots of other threads on MN describing how farmers’ fields, for example, are being ruined by sheer volume of people just walking on public rights of way, when not many people would have done so in the past. As far as I can tell, every scrap of open space is being used and enjoyed by people who have nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. It is not a problem solely experienced by Cornwall. When news stories from around the UK have documented packed countryside and beaches, it has been Snowdonia, Bournemouth, the Peak District, Dorset, Brighton, the Lake District that spring to mind. Cornwall made the news for most searched for people to move to, but not for rampant holidaymakers. It does seem like the people of Cornwall complain the most on MN about it though, always mentioning how small the hospitals and roads are, again - as though that is unique to Cornwall!

I live in a very scenic part of London. It's popular with visitors. Since last March it has been very busy. Some of our paths are narrow and we've spent the last year having to pass close to strangers, sometimes even briefly brushing shoulders. The roads are busy and inconsiderately parked cars cause delays. I often entertain myself by noting the parking permits in parked cars and see that they come from all over the South of England.

If the weather is even reasonable every bench, wall and fallen tree is occupied. The paths and open spaces are churned up by the millions of feet. Yet it seems that every visitor has bought takeaway food and drink locally and most of them attempt to put the rubbish in the often overflowing bins. The Council refuse to provide toilets, despite the pleadings of the locals, so in hot weather it gets a bit smelly, but that's hardly the visitors' fault. The Council seem to think they will drive about 20 London miles to go home to the toilet, despite having spent a lot of money on drinks locally.

Everyone local I speak to expresses the pleasure that seeing so many people out enjoying themselves brings and how grateful they are to visitors for keeping local takeaway businesses going. Yes, we acknowledge the inconvenience, but visitors are very welcome here. This is 'unfriendly' London.

And our Covid rates? Despite the spike that most of the country suffered, some of the lowest.

I am sorry that people in some places can find no joy in sharing 'their' lovely surroundings. How sad.

@backinthebox no I’m sure it occurs all over the country but I’m posting as a resident of Cornwall, on a thread about visitors to Cornwall. I think the governments whole approach to COVID is royally fucked up and it’s that which is contributing to people’s fear and resentment. By all means come down here, but be considerate of others by wearing your mask, maintaining social distancing and being respectful of the area you’re staying in. Or... try working and living down here in the summer - getting abuse from those who ‘don’t believe in COVID’, being jostled by hordes of people visiting the beaches as you’re trying to do the school run and being one of the locals who litter picks every evening once the hordes have dispersed, leaving their rubbish all over the beach. (I realise the last one isn’t COVID specific but it’s a bugbear that every summer the beach becomes a rubbish dump).

@Thidwick I’ll be fine not coming to Cornwall. I work for an airline, and in happier times (before I apparently became a freight pilot) I work on what is known as ‘the beach fleet’ flying holiday makers on their hols all over the world. I know that they can switch their brains off as soon as they are in holiday mode. I’m also one of our village litter pickers who cleans the forest twice a year. It’s not local residents who dump their rubbish here, it’s the visitors, and it’s a hundred times worse because of lockdown. So I understand how you feel, and I don’t even live in Cornwall!

don't people who live in tourist areas ever go on holiday to somewhere else or visit other places, thus becoming dreaded tourists themselves?

I think some very touristy areas were not built for the volume of traffic that now exists and it must be a pain if you live in an area that gets very busy, and you're trying to get to work etc. But I dont think it's the case that all visitors are patronising or feel superior.
We loved cornwall but decided against it this year because we thought it would be very busy. We are going to be tourists elsewhere because we live pretty far from the sea, and want to go to the beach, but hopefully we wont be annoying or patronising. (We might have a roof box though!)

@backinthebox I appreciate your view but our hospital does have this problem every year..not pregnant people but increased population in the high season. So with everywhere fully booked so early of course this is going to be a big problem. If you don't live here then assume you dont know.

I dont have visitors as I'm shielding due to being concerned about coronavirus on my pregnancy.

Honestly I'm not going anywhere this year, my family are not visiting until it is safe to do so, which is not now.

@fizbosshoes yes definitly...I love being a tourist (just not now) I do think the effect tourism has on my life here though makes me try to be extra considerate when visiting an area and not just be a general nuisance 😅 though cant help getting lost or something.

I dont dislike tourists in general...hope my posts on here dont come across that way. There are a good handful that do act like superior twats sadly but most are lovely people enjoying Cornwall.

I'm just confused as to why, in the middle of a pandemic half the population decide to go on holiday 🤨

I'm in Cornwall and my livelihood depends on tourism. Very selfishly I can't wait for them to come back. If everyone adheres to any rules in force at the time all will be well. We didn't get a spike last summer with no vaccines so surely it can only be better than last year?

My town has almost no covid right now, only 2 people in county in hospital.
You don't need to worry about tourists from my area.

@garlictwist

Surely everywhere has its own issues that come with it, whether it's tourism or something else. I live in a big student area - we had a huge influx of them in September and yes, they have brought covid with them.

Many of them continue to have parties and large gatherings but that's just how it is round here. I accept that by living where I do this is what happens and they (the students) have as much right to go where they want as I do.

Same goes for tourists.

I grew up in the Lakes and the attitude of the some of the people in the village where I grew up (near Ullswater) is awful. No one owns an area.

Wordsworth actually successfully campaigned against the train line to Windermere going further into the Lakes to allow the teeming hordes from Manchester to access his poetry spots.

I'm half offcomer half local Lakes, so I've no side in this, but it is weirdly that the offcomers are the vigilantes in my experience. Those who've made their money elsewhere and feel that buying a house gives them a right to the area. This was especially true during foot and mouth.

@LemonRoses

Overnight stays away aren’t permitted at Easter unless exceptional circumstances. People in England are not permitted to travel to holiday cottages or second homes until at least 12th April.

Easter shouldn’t be an issue.

This. I have a second home (not in any of the areas mentioned here, it's in a city). I haven't been there since last November and won't be going until May at the earliest. I miss it and I hope it's all ok but I'm not going to break guidelines just to exercise my privilege.

I think you need to look at the covid stats and give your head a wobble. I'm in the New Forest and understand where you're coming from about invasions of tourists and second home owners, but the current evidence would infer that the risk of them bringing covid with them is low

@missbridgerton

Yes, filthy dirty bastards dripping in Covid coming down in their Covid covered cars to spread Covid around all the locals then fuck back off again.

How very dare they.