Does the tourist industry actually want visitors right now?

[Rae36]

I can't decide what to do about our half term holiday next week. It's not banned, it's fairly low key. But we are planning to visit a tourist attraction and eat out a couple of times. We had planned to stay with family but are now having 2 nights in a hotel.

If you work in a tourist attraction like a museum or a theme park do you still want visitors? Or if you work in a hotel? I can't shake this feeling that people might not want us and we are putting them at risk by travelling.

We're sensible, we live a low risk life at home, but the people working in these places don't know that. And no matter how sensible you are you just have to be unlucky once to catch and spread.

They would probably be glad as they’ll all be fearful of their jobs not existing if people don’t visit.

Have you tried contacting the tourist attraction to ask something (maybe make it up) and gauge their attitude?

I expect their need to eat overrides their fears of catching Covid.

I suspect dithering Boris will finally agree to a circuit break over half term for a couple of weeks so I shouldn’t make any definite plans.

I have just emailed our accommodation booked for 2 nights, in medium tier Wales. We are coming from a medium tier too. I think I would really like to postpone till Feb...
However I was looking forward to it.

If we are able to go to our tier 1 destination from our tier 1 home we will go - but we’ll stick in our family group , visit one museum I’ve prebooked and we’re self catering - so I’ll cook or get takeaway ... other than that we’ll walk a lot ! I’m more worried we won’t add enough to the local economy!

We have booked a remote cottage in Pembrokeshire for next week. We live in a county with very few cases and Pembrokeshire has also had very few cases so I'm hoping it's fine to go. It looks like it's just the hotpots that have been banned from Wales... So far.

I volunteer for a heritage organisation and they are desperate for more visitors. A lot of work has been done to make the attractions COVID safe and visitors are very very welcome!

Yes, we do want visitors. Desperately. We are on our knees.

I’m coming! And I’m bringing my purse!

AS long as you don't live in a high risk area then I don't think anyone minds (and as others have pointed out they do need the income) - however if you are in a high risk area - or just been exposed please stay home

However also be sensible (I'm sure you are) my daughter works in a hotel and when they reopened she did say the amount of drunks was far more than prelockdown and they were having to call the police every night - people like that noone really wants - whatever the health situation

Pembrokeshire welcomes people from low risk areas with large purses! However if you live here some people are really scared of tourists coming in from high risk areas then getting arsey when asked to wear masks indoors. It only takes one superspreader sneezing in Spar and our tiny number of hospital beds are overwhelmed. Trust us we've had a lot of overly entitled people taking the piss for months now and it gets very tiring.

The non overly entitled mask wearers and their money are welcome indeed, have a lovely stay.

If you are from a high risk area and decide 'sod it I've been looking forward to this holiday for ages' and come just be aware that Dyfed-Powys police are very practiced in checking car registrations and making people leave now so don't take the risk of getting all the way here and having to go back immediately. I've genuinely felt very sorry for some people's children to get so close then have to drive all the way back.

We have a holiday cottage booked for a week in a tier one area. We live in a tier one area but may go into tier two. I really hope we can go and will be welcome as all of our holiday plans were cancelled in the summer along with GCSES and A levels and all of the things that go along with that 🤞

No, I'm sure they are sitting on their ass praying to go under of course they do! My family member works in the tourist industry and had her hours cut and she was gutted.

@LostInWales that's made me feel a lot better, thank you!! We also live in a very touristy area with only one small hospital, so can completely understand the concern.

Of course we want guests, they will keep us in a job, the hotel I work at is an independent family owned one so every guest counts!

That said I'm not particularly comfortable with the amount of guests coming up from the central belt at the moment, my area of Scotland has one of the lowest rates of Covid cases and a small part of me feels uneasy having people from higher risk areas coming up, especially at the moment with the school holidays.

Yes! Yes we do

I’m armed with not only a purse, but intention to spend. Also, manners, masks, hand sanitiser and a sense of distance.

I’ll even pick litter on your beaches. I mean, basically I’m a great tourist! 😂

My worry is how it's going to be policed. We're in a tier one area and wfh etc and planning to go to a tier one area in wales next week. I'm nervous about going - we'd be stayed self catering in a family member's house while they're abroad - we'd be walking, reading, eating.

However I don't want to be reported to the police for eating out while being English and having to potentially repeatedly provide where I come from. At the moment I'm probably going to cancel as it just seems like it will be stressful for us and for the other people in the town who don't really want us there because infection rates are higher. At the moment I think maybe next year.

I'm from the South East and went to the Highlands last week. I was a little worried if I would be welcomed but everyone was lovely.

The tourism businesses themselves will want the trade, but the communities they exist within might not be so enthused.

I live in Cornwall and there are mixed views here.

The thing is, it’s not just about covid. In a normal year we’re just getting back to the typical rhythm of life at about this point in the calendar year.

Numbers die down and we can go about our daily lives without the inconvenience of everywhere being flooded with crazy volumes of extra people.

So a big influx of tourists in October because people can’t travel abroad this year would be a total pain in the bum.

I do understand why people want to get away from cities and suburbia though.

I work in the tourism industry and overwhelmingly YES.

Up to 90,000 of us may lose our jobs this year or next, many already have.

If they are open for visitors then they want visitors.

Yes Yes Yes.

I’m armed with not only a purse, but intention to spend. Also, manners, masks, hand sanitiser and a sense of distance. I’ll even pick litter on your beaches. I mean, basically I’m a great tourist!

Never mind the perfect tourist, sounds like you would be the perfect house guest!!

Have you ever been to Bournemouth?

I think it’s like a PP said - the people who actually work in tourism, yes - whether enthusiastically or to save their jobs. People in communities who don’t stand to be personally effected, less so.

@SorrelBlackbeak I don't think anyone will be reported for eating whilst English, half the people living in south Pembs would be in trouble if so! The police round here have been amazing and very reassuring by driving round and round and round checking the number plates of parked cars. If you are local you get an 'enjoy the beach', but if outside whatever the current legislation allows you get a polite request to piss off up to an escort over the border (for the people who broke in to an empty cottage and pretended to have bought it). The only English people driven from a pub I've seen were on a FB video of people who'd given fake contact details (M Mouse phone no 654321). I'm English and have evaded all flaming pitchforks so far.