Cornwalls Conflicting Relationship With tourists...
Where do second home owners stand throughout this lockdown? Where there's a right, there's a responsibility.
How should tourism be supported in these next few coming months?
Second home owners
Corona virus has effected many businesses, people & families this past year. Following Prime Minister (Boris Johnston's) lockdown rules, many second home owners fled to the countryside but in particular, to Cornwall. This left many locals in debate about how sociably acceptable this is...
One view is that if you own a home, it is yours and therefore you have a right to live in it. Whether that's permanently or temporarily. Many say that the more people that live in Cornwall throughout this lockdown, the more the struggling economy gets supported. As long as their COVID free, social distance & support the rules, why shouldn't they stay here?
But how likely are they to follow the rules? The opposing view is that people will only bring down more COVID cases with them- jeopardising and negatively impacting the only major hospital of the county. As well as this, it is seen that some of them wont feel the need to social distance and respect the guidelines.
The bottom line is, all second home owners should feel free to come and stay in their homes, as long as they are free from COVID, and they strongly respect the rules.
Tourism after lockdown
It's no secret that Cornwall relies on tourism for economic growth. Throughout the summer months, the popular county swarms with hundreds of thousands of visitors, desperate to see the whispered wonders that the seaside duchy provides. However, under the current circumstances and the life threatening pandemic, trips to Cornwall are looking a bit different.
Not only are the government unsure about when to relax travel bans, but so are the people of Cornwall. Nationally, many businesses have severely suffered from the effects of the pandemic. Some even permanently closed down, causing owners to say goodbye to their dreams of being their own boss and providing for the people. Here in Cornwall we have many companies that power off of tourism. Even though we all want to see our county provide an amazing trip to visitors, deep down many feel like this isn't the safest option.
After speaking to a couple holiday home owners, I understand the worries that some may have. All though on one hand the owners are desperate for the income, they're worried for the safety of them and others. A known fear is that whilst cleaning the homes, owners are afraid the could contract the Corona Virus. This puts many at the idea of not opening up their holiday homes until the better weather comes around in June.
Another common worry is that we will run out of spaces in the ICU. There is a high risk that once the world of tourism starts to run again in Cornwall, cases of COVID will greatly increase. This will cause many to flee to Royal Cornwall hospital in aid of help. However, only a handful of people realise how under pressure our hospital and how little amount of beds and support we can provide.
Despite all of this, Cornwalls tourism will open up again. It's just a matter of when and how. As long as everyone respects each other and the rules, there is definitely hope for a successful economic season for Cornwall.
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