Tourism businesses struggling, says Lancashire chief

A contingent of tourism boards came together to discuss the findings of the NatWest North of England Tourism Barometer study.

It found that more than a fifth of North West businesses are unsure if they will still be trading next summer.

Led by Marketing Manchester, nine Destination Management Organisations - including Marketing Lancashire, Cumbria Tourism, Marketing Cheshire and Marketing Liverpool from the North West – were involved.

It found that businesses have, and continue, to carry significant losses of revenue, with 31 per cent of businesses reporting a revenue loss of over 60 per cent even at the peak of resumed business activity in late August.

This was when the visitor economy had largely reopened after the first lockdown and initiatives such as Eat Out to Help Out were having a positive impact.

Overall, around half of businesses were trading at a loss of over 60 per cent for ten out of the sixteen weeks of the study.

Rachel McQueen, Chief Executive of Marketing Lancashire, said: "In the early weeks of the study, it looked as though Lancashire was beginning to recover well.

"Businesses had worked hard to make sure that they were Covid-secure, and consumer and business confidence was growing as bookings came back.

"However, it is clear that the impact of additional restrictions and then the three-tier system quickly took their toll, and both forward bookings and business confidence slumped.

"The opportunity to claw back revenue over the widely predicted staycation 'boom' was so short, that many businesses are now facing the feared ‘third winter’ in a row, and a winter without the usual Christmas revenue."

She added: "Our businesses have done absolutely everything asked of them, and yet many are struggling to survive through no fault of their own.

"There will be no 'bounce back', we need to support them throughout 2021 and beyond to slowly rebuild, or these amazing assets that mean so much to residents and visitors alike could be lost forever."

Businesses across the north of England have had to make significant reductions to permanent and temporary staff, and from the end of September and throughout October half of businesses reported that they were downsizing their permanent staff over the next month.

Businesses now expect revenue to recover in January 2022, compared to the previous outlook of July 2021 at the start of the study.