SMALL ISLAND BIG HEART
THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS is predicted to cost the UK tourism industry at least £22bn in lost revenue. Domestic tourism has always been a booming industry for a nation that loves to explore its beaches, forests, lakes, moors and mountains. But in the face of a global pandemic, stories about closures and empty beauty spots make for grim reading.
Tourism is one of the UK’s most successful economic sectors, employing 3.1 million people and supporting 200,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs right across the country, as well as being the main employer in many coastal towns and rural communities. For two months, most of those staff have been furloughed and the businesses shut. Many businesses with shorter spring or summer seasons have seen that timeframe radically reduced, while also considering how to offer their services or experiences in the light of social distancing and government safety measures. It has been a lot to consider.
And yet, in the midst of uncertainty came ingenuity, creativity and a deep and renewed sense of community. For the British tourism and hospitality industry, this is a challenge, but not an unassailable one. David Adams, general manager at the Cary Arms Hotel & Spa in Devon, explains that uncertainty, on some level, is something they’ve always been prepared for. “We get thrown curveballs all the time in this industry. Yes, this was a particularly big one, but being a success in hospitality gives you a lot of practice at being caught off guard and adjusting to the situation.”
SUPPORTING EACH OTHER
Across the nation, pubs, bars, hotels, parks, estates and tourist boards worked to consider the best way to cope through lockdown, and to support those around them in difficult times. Across Britain, The
