The National Coastal Tourism Academy is providing an excellent hub with a variety of blogs on the issues and activities around covid and the coast communities – click here to see the material available
NCTA June Update
‘Tuesday’s long-awaited announcement that Covid-secure hospitality businesses can now get back to business on 4 July has brought nothing short of a tidal wave of relief for thousands of coastal tourism businesses. The announcement that accommodation providers including campsites and caravan parks along with restaurants and pubs and most attractions can start welcoming guests and generating revenue gives hope to many businesses on the brink of collapse.
While this is undoubtedly the news we’ve been waiting for, many holidays have simply switched a previous booking in lockdown to one for the summer, so any heralding of a return of the ‘Great British staycation’ may be premature.
If coastal tourism businesses are to start getting back on their feet, resorts will need strong visitor numbers through autumn, over Christmas and to the spring and will need to be supported by robust marketing messages.
To address this, this week we have sent a letter to the Chancellor led by the Rt. Hon. Tobias Ellwood MP and supported by a group of cross-party coastal MPs asking for support for a four-year Coastal Tourism Recovery Plan. This focuses on product development and marketing campaigns to address – seasonality; collaborative working on a national scale; business support for training and research to allow diversification; shared examples of best practice and lessons learnt to see the coast return to pre-Covid levels.
Whilst it will take time to rebuild, we believe with Government support we can navigate a route from survival to recovery.
Read our submission to the Chancellor and press release here.
Let’s hope we can re-open safely in July and, with Government intervention, begin to build the coast back better.