One of the country’s leading tourism experts is calling on the Government to create a “compliance” scheme so holiday businesses can reopen safely – or provide it with a £1billion bail out.
Mr Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall, said a successful balance could be struck between firms reopening and keeping people safe, and is already working on proposals for the Government to set up a scheme.
Under this, businesses would have to demonstrate they can keep staff and visitors – and the community – safe. In return, they would get a compliance certificate allowing visitors to book holidays.
Mr Bell said any restart of the holiday industry would still have to be gradual.
“You don’t suddenly want five million visitors from across the UK and abroad descending on us,” he said. “But what’s wrong with somebody from Devon going to a Cornish holiday park? We are both relatively low-risk areas.”
He said the only alternative would be a huge injection of government cash – in the region of £1billion for Devon and Cornwall – to mothball the tourism industry until 2021.
He said: “We certainly don’t want to risk the Cornish community, but equally people are worried about their businesses. Unless the Government is going to bail us out big time, we haven’t got the luxury of shutting down the tourism industry.
“In Cornwall, 53,000 jobs depend on tourism, and there are lots of people on furlough who will be worried.”
Mr Bell was speaking after Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove warned that people will not be able to travel to visit seaside resorts such as Cornwall “for some time to come”.
In Parliament Mr Gove told MPs that “at the moment and for some time to come” members of the public should not travel to visit popular seaside resorts such as Cornwall or Devon.
Steve Double, Conservative MP for St Austell and Newquay, asked Mr Gove to “join me in thanking the Devon and Cornwall Police for their proactive approach in preventing people travelling to Cornwall for non-essential purposes including to visit their second homes and for a holiday”.
He added: “One of the biggest concerns of people in Cornwall is that as we start to ease the lockdown, we will start to see an influx of people coming to Cornwall and risk another wave.
“So can my right honourable friend assure me that as the government considers lifting the restrictions, it will come with clear and enforceable travel restrictions to prevent this from happening?”
Mr Gove replied: “Cornwall is beautiful, visiting it is a pleasure, but at the moment and for some time to come, don’t.”
Another Conservative, Arundel MP Andrew Griffith, called for garden centres to be reopened in the first wave of changes to the lockdown restrictions.
Mr Griffith warned that garden centres across the UK are “economically wilting with every day of the peak growing season that they remain closed”.
