How do people feel about visiting Cornwall?
Many clients in the tourism, hospitality and leisure sector are planning to reopen their doors, and one of their most pressing questions is around how the public are feeling about holidays and tourism right now. Once our businesses open their doors, will people actually want to visit?
Our colleagues at Visit Cornwall have been working hard on behalf of Cornish tourism, lobbying for support for our businesses at regional and national level. They’ve also commissioned a regular research report, tracking customer’s feelings about travelling to Cornwall following the impact of COVID-19.
Some of the key findings, authored by Jon Young and Nathaly Kambakara at London-based research agency BVA BDRC, are detailed below. These are invaluable insights into how the public are feeling right now, and we will receive regular updates about how those sentiments are changing.
The key findings were:
There are small signs of increased optimism and summer holiday intentions are also increasing: The proportion of the UK public stating ‘the worst has passed’ is higher this week than in any of the past five weeks, suggesting the country has recovered from the pessimism exhibited following the Prime Minister’s announcement at the start of May. Summer holiday intentions have also increased, although not yet at the rate that would suggest a staycation boom.
Despite steady increases, there’s a sense that the public are waiting before committing to a summer holiday: After a jump in intention a few weeks ago, there remains a sense of stasis around Britons’ plans to take summer trips. This is likely to be linked to the vagueness around when the hospitality sector will open. Certainty around dates and evidence of successful opening in action will likely give people the confidence to commit. This week’s doubling of intention to visit zoos (after last week’s government announcement) is evidence of the impact of clearer government guidance, as well as the power of lobbying bodies to affect change.
Picture Credit: Tyler Milligan on Unsplash
Most of the public require clear evidence that tourism organizations are safe to visit: At the very least, organizations will need to clearly indicate the steps that they have taken. This is sufficient for around 2 in 5 of holiday-makers. However, a third require some-level of accreditation to feel confident to visit. Pending accreditation rolled out by VisitBritain will therefore be a valuable asset when it is released.
South West residents’ opposition to holiday-makers may be a barrier to tourism: Residents to the South West are currently more opposed to visitors coming into the region than UK residents in general. This is a barrier to visitors coming to the area – research conducted by VisitBritain shows that some tourists may not travel to an area if they feel they are not welcome. Local authorities should do all they can to reassure residents that tourism will be facilitated in a safe manner.
Local resident anxieties may be made worse by tourist attitudes towards social distancing: This week’s research demonstrates that a significant proportion of visitors may ‘ignore’ social distancing if the conditions make it difficult to undertake it. This may then create further anxiety and opposition from local residents, further highlighting the need for reassurances and clear guidance for tourists
Restaurants, cafes and visitor attractions are an essential part of the holiday experience: Significant proportions of holiday-makers regard places to eat and visitor attractions as essential for them to visit a destination for a holiday. There is appetite to visit these places even with a reduced service (such as takeaway only or reduced capacity).
Advanced booking is not a barrier for most, although off putting for some: Most people would not regard advance booking for restaurants, visitor attractions or public areas as so off putting that they wouldn’t visit, suggesting this is a viable approach. It is more off-putting for paying venues and those where decisions to visit are perhaps more impulsive (e.g. lunch in a café or restaurant). Venues should be wary of visitor no-shows though. In the early weeks of attractions re-opening, up to 30% of those that have booked have not turned up. At both free and paying venues this has a negative impact on potential secondary spend. Venues have overcome this by inflating the maximum capacity (to account for drop-out) or asking people to only book if they are certain they will visit.
Paper-based information is likely to have lower take-up than normal: The public look less likely to seek information from leaflets left in public places. This is likely associated with the lack of ‘policing’ on who has touched the leaflets. Venues reliant on leaflets should therefore work to deliver a more developed online presence, or work with accommodation providers to promote places in person..
This information comes directly from the Visit Cornwall bespoke report Tracking Consumer Sentiment on the Impact of COVID-19 Week 6 , commissioned by Visit Cornwall and shared with colleagues in Cornish tourism. It was authored by Jon Young and Nathaly Kambakara of BVA BDRC and Alligator.
If you’d like to continue this conversation, and discuss how these findings and other research available can inform your campaign planning for the year ahead, please contact us to set up a meeting. Roscoe Communications can help support your strategic and tactical marketing decisions with access to reports such as these to make informed recommendations.