Every cloud, it is said, has a silver lining. Sadly, the reverse is also true – as a general rule, wherever there’s a silver lining, a big black cloud won’t be far away.
According to a recent article in The Economist, the nascent financial feel-good factor is prompting increasing numbers of UK residents to look overseas for their summer sunshine breaks. Having endured a lengthy recession, we are apparently feeling just a little bit wealthier.
That’s the good news. The bad news, at least according to The Economist, is that the southwest is suffering as a result. ‘Staycations’ are no longer in vogue, newly-confident holidaymakers are heading abroad, and the West Country is feeling the pinch.
Dave Price, head of Weymouth’s hoteliers’ association, is quoted as saying: “We’re still in recession down here, whatever the politicians in London may say.”
A few days after reading this tale of woe, I was invited to chair an event staged by the Bournemouth-based National Coastal Tourism Academy, which is tasked with – among other things – promoting job creation in the tourism sector.
The keynote speaker was Alistair MacGregor and, since he works for TripAdvisor, he attracted quite a crowd of hospitality industry professionals, most of whom appeared to be pretty happy with this year’s business prospects.
Their mood can only have been improved by the revelation (perhaps contrary to popular belief) that 48 per cent of TripAdvisor ‘posts’ come from guests who rate their holiday experience as five-star. A further 29 per cent post four-star accolades.
The two viewpoints are not unrelated. An overwhelming majority of TripAdvisor’s contributors have such enjoyable holidays they feel impelled to share the good news with others. And, as the green shoots of economic recovery begin to appear, UK residents seem prepared to splash a little extra cash on their annual getaways.
Persuading them to spend that money in the southwest – and in Dorset in particular – will unquestionably be a challenge, and the recent weather will not have helped. However, it is a challenge that cannot be ignored, and one which can and must be overcome.
Furthermore, it is not just the hospitality sector that needs to rise to the occasion. Tourists do not restrict their spending to hotel and restaurant bills. They buy postcards and souvenirs, they re-fuel their cars (and pay to park them), they visit bars and nightclubs, and they pay to visit our innumerable attractions. If they’re lucky, they’ll buy suncream; if they’re not, they’ll buy umbrellas.
Whether they’re in Corfe or Corfu, Bridport or Barcelona, Dorchester or Dubrovnik, they enjoy themselves. Back home, they spread the word, posting and boasting about the great time they have had, and urging others to follow suit.
And since they and those ‘others’ have now loosened their purse-strings, now is the time, not just to put out the welcome mat, but to roll out the red carpet.
The doom-and-gloom merchants will focus on the cloud. The rest of can, and should, take full advantage of the silver lining.