Cornwall’s top tourist attractions continue to face staff shortages
Some are operating with half the number of their usual staff
Last updated 17th Aug 2021
Visitor attractions in Cornwall have been struggling to recruit as people in the tourism and hospitality industry have moved away from the sector in favour of other work opportunities.
The number of staff asked to self-isolate after receiving a Track and Trace ping has also had a massive impact along side the current housing market - with a lack of affordable rental properties making it hard for people to accept jobs without a place to live.
Despite generous salaries and signing-on bonuses in some areas, recruitment remains an issue with catering roles proving one of the hardest to fill.
Cornwall is currently seeing one of the busiest summers on record, due to the number of people taking staycations this year.
Jon Cummins, Chair of the Board of Directors at Cornwall Association of Tourist Attractions (CATA), said: “Cornwall is facing a crisis in the recruitment of strong candidates across the tourism sector at the moment. It is proving a real challenge for our visitor attractions to fill positions, with many operating with significantly lower levels of staff than usual.
“The county is experiencing a huge boom in visitors this summer, and we’d ask all visitors to our attractions to be patient and kind to the staff serving them. They’ll be working very hard to provide a great visitor experience at a really testing time for our sector.”
Richard Welby, general manager at Flambards, agrees with this sentiment. He said: “We are running at almost 70% of our normal head count for this time of year. This has obviously had an impact on all areas and departments at the site. It has meant increased pressure on our existing teams at every level.
“We are asking all visitors to help us to deliver the best day of the week by respecting our team members at every point. The health, safety and welfare of every visitor and every team member is the number one priority for us, and this will never change.”
Cornwall Association of Tourist Attractions are now liaising closely with other industry bodies, including Visit Cornwall and Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, to voice concerns and to look at ways to boost recruitment in the sector.