February 11 2009

Gloom and Boom: the recession, Yorkshire and all that

Well, perhaps there is hope after all. Writers can pen pieces about how the recession is hitting the travel industry, and photographers can take moody pictures of doomed-looking financial institutions glowering beneath scudding black clouds. BAA figures show a marked decline in air travel from the UK, and short breaks abroad and skiing holidays are said to be particular casualties of the recession. But there’s an upside: domestic self-catering operators talk of a very good year – caravanning bookings up 40 per cent, for instance. And in the Eurozone the gossip is about Britain eventually becoming better value for money.

Our recent AGM in Yorkshire revealed some pleasant surprises in the way domestic tourism is shaping up.

At the Michelin-starred Star Inn at the village of Harome, Andrew Pern prides himself on imaginative use of local produce, and his formula is working even though the prices aren’t cheap: ‘the downturn hasn’t affected us. We get busier every month.’

And nearby at the family-run Fauconberg Arms, a marvellously authentic old village inn, in the improbably perfect-looking village of Coxwold owner Simon Rheinberg says ‘We’ll survive because we serve good-value food. We’re relaxed, not pretentious. We’re confident based on Christmas and January that it’s going to be a good year.’

I contacted the Yorkshire Tourist Board to see if this was really a true picture, and Gary Verity, the Chief Executive, commented that their latest Regional Visitor Survey shows a clear rise in visitor spend to the region. ‘People are loath to forgo their holidays, which many see as an essential budgetary item rather than a luxury. We should be seeing more people staying within the UK this year and we are also expecting more overseas visitors.’

The downward spiral is not totally predictable: things could get interestingly busy in parts of Britain.

Tim Locke, BGTW Web Editor