Do you think Cornwall will be 'open' in July?

[NoSoapAndGory]

Hi all.

A purely speculative post to gauge opinions, as I know we don't know, don't have a crystal ball, etc etc.

We have booked a self catering holiday cottage near Bude for the first 10 days of July. We live in the South East, so it's about 5 hours drive to get there on a good day. We have a dog so would need to stop at a service station at least once.

As part of general future-focused conversation, DH and I are ruminating about

1: will we be 'allowed' to go
2: if we are, would we want to anyway?
3: if it's 'allowed', will the Bude community welcome us or hate us?
4: will the tourist industry want revenue or not?

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Anyone else having similar discussions, and if so, what are you thinking?

I think that the government's priority will be to get the country's businesses safely back to work. One of the first difficulties will be to get safe travel on public transport. I think that holidays for the moment aren't a priority.

Until we have more testing and a vaccine we are at risk of a further outbreak, but we haven't come out of this first outbreak. If people are allowed to travel freely they could not only take the disease with them but pick it up sparking a new wave.

It's not purely Cornwall but all visiting all holiday destinations put us all at risk. Even if you live here you can't enjoy the beaches, surf visit gardens etc. If the FB, RNLI, rescue helicopters, ambulances have to come out they all they not only put themselves at risk as social distancing isn't possible but they have to disinfect their equipment.

The country will need holidays when the spectre of this virus lifts. We have a population of 565 000 here but only 60 ICU beds. There are people who need hospital treatment for other urgent conditions so please:
💞StaySafe&StayHome&VisitNextYear💞

So is the idea that she will be allowed to visit him (in London) but he can't visit her?

Who knows? They are just talking about testing a temporary pilot scheme.

It looks as though going forward, as there is feedback from testing and tracking, the government envisages that levels of restriction will vary as necessary in different parts of the UK. It's not clear how that would affect people who want to move between areas. For one thing we don't actually have any efficient testing and tracking systems yet.

There are many articles now saying the knock on effect of no visitors is catastrophic to lots of businesses

But they would be facing that anyway because of the effect of social distancing measures.

I agree about the wider economic effects. If a large number of people are employed in the UK hospitality and entertainment industries, and then suddenly those industries disappear, everyone will be affected.

I'd be happy for Cornwall to be a pilot area for a test, trace track strategy. I think if we can help, we should do.

Having devolution usually means spending taxes raised by other people. In areas of deprivation that’s very much the case. Everyone pays the tax but has no say in how it’s spent because it’s devolved. We just cannot have that on a grand scale. Perhaps London should be fully devolved and keep all their tax revenue? That would screw Cornwall. Please be sensible.

I think if you want mass unemployment then we won’t come to Cornwall. You will see the economy of Cornwall crumble around you. Good luck with devolution then!

I think that holidays for the moment aren't a priority.

Holidays, tourism are business. The biggest sector economically in Cornwall.

Presumably if nobody can enter Cornwall, nobody can leave?

Daffodil that is what I would assume too. Unless it's a one-way trip and we surrender our Cornish passports at the border?!

There's no point in asking people not to come if we ignore that ourselves.

@TatianaBis only 20% of jobs in Cornwall are in hospitality/tourism. FYI.

20% is a LOT.

The Cornish will have to stay put too. Many people will have holidays booked elsewhere.

@DontBeNastyAveAPasty 20% is a huge proportion of jobs to be in a single industry. If other industries had that proportion, there would only be room for five industries in Cornwall.

Pasty - I think it's more the business that are indirectly supported by tourism. Their business won't die immediately because locals use these services too but they won't be turning over what they are used to.

Yes, 20% of jobs in Cornwall might be the stated number for those in the tourism/hospitality industries, but almost everything else hinges on the success of that industry down here.

Predominantly tourism businesses in Cornwall make money for the Easter to September period of the year, then lose money hand over fist during October to March.

In a snapshot view, if there is no tourism business this summer, there will be no tourism businesses buying food from local suppliers (fish, drinks, vegetables, fruit, meat being the biggest), there will be no tourism businesses using tradesmen in the winter to do up their physical buildings, there will be no tourism businesses pumping money into the local economies.

I am not sure that opening Cornwall is necessarily a fabulous idea, but if the LEP has finally admitted that tourism is intrinsically linked to the survival of the county (after over a decade of denying this), then maybe there is some merit in it being a test area?

Yes it will mean potentially an increase in COVID 19 cases in the county, and horribly subsequently potentially more deaths, but we live in one of the poorest areas in Europe facing the devastation of our main source of income. I fear for our future down here, yes from the virus, but also from the ongoing deprivation in our communities.

if the LEP has finally admitted that tourism is intrinsically linked to the survival of the county (after over a decade of denying this), then maybe there is some merit in it being a test area?

It has been suggested as a test area because of the geography, not because of tourism.

Even if social distancing restrictions were lifted slightly, it's unlikely that they would be lifted to the level required to enable the tourism industry to function profitably before the end of the summer.

@DontBeNastyAveAPasty

Already covered that on the previous page. 20% is 1 in 5 jobs.

OK as a N Wales dweller here is my take, holiday homes = semi isolated families. Hotels = cruise type ship infections.

There will be sod all for you to do bar visiting beaches, lakes, forests, if the attractions choose not to open. Restaurants/pubs may still be shut down.

So the upshot is you will be in a lovely area, just shopping at different supermarkets.

Reading what I wrote above has a 60`s feel to holidaying in the UK

justasking to be fair, based on how I feel right now, that sounds fantastic. Different scenery and somewhere new to walk and shop - yup , what's not to like.

justasking - that sounds like a perfect holiday.

remember when Boardmasters was cancelled last year and all the businesses in Newquay had surplus stock of food, drink and toilet roll! Gosh there was hell up

It’s also sad that the second poorest area in the EU didn’t value the EU or the support it received from the EU. Cornwall doesn’t support itself.

It seems at the moment that it cannot and doesn’t want to support visitors either who pay taxes and spend money to support Cornwall.

I think, as in all situations like the one we are facing, it’s always the poorest and often women who fare the worse. There needs to be some way to keep the holiday business and associated businesses going but that’s only going to help if enough can weather this storm. If they cannot, it’s a very bleak future. I rather expect the well known establishments will be ok but smaller local businesses without a national name will struggle. The niche food producers, cleaners, cafe workers etc will struggle. School leavers who want casual work before uni won’t get it. Students who want casual work won’t get it. These are all economic hardships for families.

I think a lot of the older population of Cornwall who were previously employed in traditional industries and engineering and were hoping these industries would pick up again once the EU had left and the country would be less reliant on tourism. Apparently South Crofty is reopening .. in about 50 years.

Michelle asking Boris right now.
roll eyes.

What did he actually say? I got lost in all the umming and erring.