Cornwall enters second lockdown having already lost £700m in tourism revenue
Visit Cornwall's Chief Executive says it could add up to £1billion by the end of the year if lockdown is extended
Last updated 5th Nov 2020
Tourism and hospitality businesses in Cornwall have suffered a loss of £700m in revenue this year due to the coronavirus crisis.
The Chief Executive of Visit Cornwall, Malcolm Bell, says it's important that businesses and jobs are protected as we head into a second national lockdown.
The announcement was made on Saturday 31st October following a government U-turn in which it's independent medical advisors said immediate action needed to be taken in order to slow down the rate of infection.
“November is the quietest month for tourism in Cornwall but it's still worth 80million pounds so that's another 50 to 80 million in the High Street another 20 or more in the supply chain so it will still have a big impact.
Malcolm Bell, Chief Executive, Visit Cornwall
Although Cornwall had a busy summer and had a successful September and October, the Duchy is still in the region of £700 million worth of lost business, this is just under 40% of business loss for the year with the second lockdown now adding to that sum.
“The real challenges for businesses is surviving the winter in terms of cash flow and cash in the bank. The medium-long term prospects for tourism are very good in Cornwall but it's making sure that good businesses survive and that we protect as many jobs as possible through till next spring.”
“ I think we urgently need to know the real details of furlough so we can protect jobs and protect businesses and obviously what we're all hoping is that this will do what's required to get the virus back under control so that we can have a successful Christmas and New Year”
Malcolm Bell, Visit Cornwall
On Monday 2nd November, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced to the Commons his plans for the coming month.
The furlough scheme is set to be extended and under the latest instalment of the UK-wide Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), self-employed workers will receive 80% of their average trading profits for November.
Over the weekend suggestions have also been made by cabinet member, Michael Gove, that the second lockdown is likely to be extended past Wednesday 2nd December.
"If we lost Christmas and the New Year in particular, that will again add to the problem of peoples cash positions and their chances of surviving the winter.
"If that happens the government would need to look seriously about cash flow loans or maybe a new version of bounce back loans and all sorts of things because it would severely hit businesses in Cornwall.
"I think you would if we lose Christmas and New Year, that would then mean that by the end of the year, we would have lost 50% of the income from the visitor economy for the whole year whereas at the moment it's just below 40% so that has big implications for the wider economy as well.
"It would be a billion pounds worth of lost income into Cornwall."
Malcolm Bell
Following Michael Gove's suggestion of an extension, Mr Johnson stressed to the Commons that the new restrictions were "time limited" and will expire after four weeks.
The prime minister promised MPs a vote "to agree the way forward" after 2 December, with the government intending to return to its tiered system for localised restrictions.
“Obviously public health and well-being is the number one priority, but I think increasingly we know the number two priority is people’s jobs and people’s businesses.
“I've got some sympathy for the government for having to manage the he situation, but I hate to say it's not a simple matter of everything shutting down.
“Because the long-term implications for people’s well-being through losing jobs and business failures, it is a very serious issue we have to manage.”
Malcolm Bell