We're back from another great Cornwall Tourism Summit 2020

By Kelly Ramsay

Angie and I are back in the office today, after 4 days in Cornwall. Working of course, no holidays here! We watched the storms from the comfort of our makeshift office at the stunning Headland Hotel and experienced the most wonderful winter sun too as we drove across the rolling hills - Ah, we love our jobs.

We were in the county representing a number of clients and also to attend the Cornwall Tourism Summit for 2020. The event was a very different proposition to the Three Counties and Cotswold Tourism Forum, which we attended last week.

Summit Speakers included Stephen Darke from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Kurt Jansen from the Tourism Alliance, Malcolm Bell from Visit Cornwall and a fascinating keynote speech from Will Higham on the future trends that the industry will likely face.

The key takeaways from the event were impeccably valuable, so we'd thought we'd share a few with you...(thank us later)

• Visitors will be looking for control, comfort and a sense of community through their travel experiences
• People want the convenience of technology but don’t necessarily want to see it
• The need to maximise educational tourism and the benefits that it brings with it
• The drive to level the playing field in paid for accommodation in terms of making it safe & clean.  This is something we have been working hard with our client Quality in Tourism to address through their Safe, Clean & Legal^TM accreditation
• There is a growing demand for sustainability and green ethics – make sure you are showcasing this.  Add information to your website so that it can be a decision maker for your guests
• The rise in experiential tourism continues and Visit Cornwall are working with new provider Beyonk – a platform we will be activating for our client Compass Holidays

There is lots of change afoot in the tourism industry, with the impending EU exit happening tomorrow (31 January), the new tourism sector deal and the likely cabinet reshuffle, but it’s clear that with change comes opportunity.

We can help you identify and harness those opportunities to help grow your business. We’re more than happy to meet for a coffee and chat through how we might be able to help. Let's have a chat, shall we? Call 01242 250692.