This time last year we were looking back on a very successful 2019.
Tourism had been growing steadily in Bristol for many years. Our city has so much to offer and visitors really enjoy exploring the city and region.
Last year, there was great optimism about the future and then Covid-19 struck.
As if at the touch of a button tourism collapsed bringing with it real concern about jobs in the industry and a dramatic fall in income for Bristol.
This is not simply a problem for Bristol and we can take confidence from the fact our overall offer remains very good.
The challenge now is how we can salvage as much as possible and then begin to build again in 2021 and beyond.
The difficulty is not knowing what the future holds. It is hard to make plans and encourage investment at this stage.
People will need to be brave and optimistic, yet realistic, through the recovery process.
For tourism to recover visitors will need to be assured that travelling is safe. Making premises secure is a high priority on everyone’s lists.
Once visitors know it is safe, there will be a real desire to travel - and we must be ready to welcome everyone, whether from within Bristol, regionally, domestically or internationally.
Bristol’s tourist information centre (TIC) will be known to many people.
It was previously located next door to Watershed, on the Harbourside, but moved to The Galleries this year.
Post-lockdown there were very few tourists in the city, coupled with dramatically reduced footfall in the shopping area.
The dedicated team in the TIC have become accustomed over two decades to dealing with large numbers of tourists and acting as ambassadors for the city.
The TIC also sells souvenirs and gifts, many produced by local Bristol artists and makers.
The challenge now is that overall footfall has dropped and visitor numbers have dramatically declined.
We are still keen to continue providing tourist information services and we can only do that if we continue to trade successfully, allowing us to pay our staff and all our costs.
As we approach Christmas I would like to encourage the people of Bristol to consider visiting Bristol’s TIC in The Galleries.
The visitor economy in our region is worth £1.5billion and employs almost 30,000 people.
We are currently at a crossroads and I hope we can move forward positively and quickly, and regain the ground which has been so abruptly lost.
We will all need to work together professionally and efficiently, and keep our eye firmly on the target.
Hopefully we can regain what we have lost during 2020 as a result of Covid-19.
