Latest news with #JonHyatt
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Calls for views on possible future Cornwall 'tourism tax'
Business owners in Cornwall have been asked to give their opinions on whether there should be a tax or a levy on body Visit Cornwall has started a survey which will run until the end of the month which it said was about presenting a "unified industry response". A tourism tax or levy is extra money generated from tourists or the tourism industry, such as added charges on overnight accommodation for visitors. Jon Hyatt, who chairs Visit Cornwall, said he was "against any charge that might put visitors off". Although Cornwall Council said in 2024 it would not press the government for devolved powers to introduce such a levy, Visit Cornwall said there were "growing suggestions" again for its introduction. Mr Hyatt added he did not want tourists to receive "wrong messaging" which might lead people to think they would be "better off going elsewhere"."Tourism tax and visitor levies do work in other locations, but that is particularly mainland Europe and cities where the visitor demographic and local economy is different," he said any proposal should meet the "principles of fairness and transparency, industry involvement and reinvestment in Cornish tourism". 'Create a barrier' Alistair Handyside, from the South West Tourism Alliance, said he did not welcome the idea of a tourism said he did not know of "rural and coastal areas" where it had worked."You have to be very careful how this would be applied, what the money is used for and how it is determined how it is spent," he CEO of the Eden Project, Andy Jasper, also had doubts about the said Cornwall had seen a "slight decline" in tourism in the last decade."We completely understand the rationale behind wanting to bring in more money to support the tourism industry, but why would you put anything in place to create a barrier in this area?" he said. In St Ives, mayor and town councillor Johnnie Wells said he had called for a voluntary community proposal was for a voluntary scheme run through accommodation providers which would not require any legislation."Any money collected in St Ives should stay in St Ives," he said."We have 11,500 people who live here paying for services that hundreds of thousands of visitors use a year. One pound a night would seem to be a fair price compared to Europe."It would need to be affordable, transparent and spent on things that offset the impact of tourism - like recycling or training for local young people."The Visit Cornwall survey is running until 31 July.
BBC News
14-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Spike in Cornwall visitors in Easter lead-up, say tourism bosses
Tourism bosses have said Easter bookings in Cornwall have kicked off "with a bang".Chairman of Visit Cornwall Jon Hyatt said the county had seen an increase in late bookings due to the spell of warm weather that touched most of the UK at the start of the Easter said the projected total visitor spend during Easter was £100m and noted there had already been a spike in both day-trippers and overnight Vickery, co-owner of holiday accommodation Macdonalds Farm near Padstow, said they had seen a 20% increase in last-minute bookings last week due to the sunny weather. She added: "We've never seen that before in Easter and it's thanks to the sun. Easter has really kicked off with a bang now."Laura Mounce, director of Strawberry Fields Farm Shop in Lifton on the Devon-Cornwall border, said the recent warmth had helped its newest venture - a three-acre tulip field planted with 250,000 bulbs. She said the flowers had begun to bloom and were "quite robust" but the venture's success was "very much in the hands of nature". "it's a bit of a gamble, a bit of a risk," she added.
BBC News
21-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Devon and Cornwall tourism bosses optimistic for recovery
There are "green shoots of optimism" for tourism in Devon and Cornwall - despite many of the regions' top attractions failing to match pre-pandemic visitor from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) showed out of the 12 top sites in the counties, only three - Haldon Forest, St Michael's Mount and Tintagel Castle - had more visitors last year compared to St Ives had the largest drop compared to 2019 with a decrease of 37% while Saltram in Plymouth and the Eden Project, near St Austell, were down 34% and 33% Jon Hyatt, chairman of Visit Cornwall, said may sites remained positive going into the Easter and summer periods. "I think the green shoots are definitely there, February half-term numbers [are] looking strong, consumer spend [is] the Visit Cornwall website is seeing records numbers in interest and traffic," he said."Members are reporting, yes, things aren't flying, but positivity is there compared to a tough 2024." In 2024, The Eden Project - which was the most visited site in Devon or Cornwall - had 673,625 visitors, a drop of 6% compared to Michael's Mount and Tintagel Castle had falls of 2% and 3% Haldon Forest and Cardinham Woods - the second and fifth most visited sites - both had annual increases, with rises of 10% and 14%.RHS Garden Rosemoor, the sixth most visited site, reported a slight increase from 237,660 visitors in 2023 to 238,030 last year. 'Authentic and unique experiences' Mr Hyatt said while there had been casualties, new attractions would open in added: "Now more than ever before, [consumers are] looking for authentic and unique experiences, it's not so much about getting an Instagram shot anymore, it's about a true experience that they couldn't have anywhere else."We have got a thriving attraction sector and we have shown a lot of investment and committed to that change in consumer demand." ALVA director Bernard Donoghue said the effect of the cost-of-living crisis on consumer spending in addition to increasing business costs and "modest" visitor numbers to the UK generally meant 2024 was a year of "steady but not significant" said the "long economic recovery" from pandemic lockdowns was still having an effect on numbers and increases to the national minimum wage and national insurance costs had led to job losses and cuts at attractions. Mr Donoghue added: "The recovery of visitor attractions and the broader cultural and heritage economies remains fragile but visitors have shown that in their leisure spending they still prioritise day trips to loved attractions."They are keeping up their memberships of favourite organisations and they value spending special time with special people in special places."
