Hundreds of tourism businesses across the North fear they will go bust before next summer after racking up mounting losses during the coronavirus lockdowns, a new report reveals.
Around half of hospitality and leisure businesses across the region were trading at a loss of over 60%, according to the NatWest North of England Tourism Business Barometer.
The survey found that businesses don’t expect revenue to recover until the start of 2022, with a third of businesses saying that bookings for first three months of 2021 are significantly down. A fifth of businesses surveyed were unsure that they would be trading at all next summer.
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The survey follows a period of severe disruption for the tourism, hospitality and leisure sector, with large parts of the North under severe local lockdowns even before the current national measures took place.
Nine tourist boards in the North East, North West and Yorkshire have participated in the study, and the organisations are now calling for more support for the industry to help it through the winter period.
Michelle Gorman, managing director at Visit County Durham, said: “Although sobering, it is vital that as destination management organisations we fully understand the impact that Covid-19 has had, and may continue to have, on the North’s visitor economy, and work collectively to ensure businesses are supported as they work towards recovery.”
Gill Haigh, managing director of Cumbria Tourism, said: “These findings chime with our own research for the Lake District, Cumbria.
"The NatWest Business Barometer highlights business viability as Cumbria’s greatest concern; this reflects our own survey which shows that almost half of businesses are not confident about surviving the next six months, with many businesses finding themselves outside of G overnment support. This is simply heart-breaking for hardworking, resilient people who have made monumental efforts to adapt, re-open and trade in Covid-safe way.
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"Looking ahead, the strong partnership between Northern destinations will be vital as we continue to work together to re-build consumer confidence. It is now imperative that we capitalise on new markets alongside regaining traditional visitors, and build on the public’s renewed appreciation of supporting ‘local’ and collectively championing the North.”
The survey involved input from NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Visit County Durham, Cumbria Tourism, Make It York, Marketing Cheshire, Marketing Lancashire, Marketing Liverpool and Visit Leeds.
The survey found that almost a third of tourism businesses were reporting losses of more than 60% even at the peak of resumed business activity in late August.
Companies have had to make significant reductions to permanent and temporary staff, and from the end of September and throughout October half of businesses reported that they were downsizing their permanent staff over the next month.
Richard Topliss, chairman of the NatWest Regional Board for the North, said: “Tourism and the wider hospitality and leisure sector has faced and continues to endure unprecedented challenges as a result of the Covid pandemic.
“The tourism barometer has charted the ups and downs of businesses in the sector over the last four months and the final survey points to low confidence for the immediate future, and hence, the need for central and local government support, alongside business leaders and providers of finance, to work together to help the sector rebuild for the future when it becomes clear that widespread vaccination will permit a new normal to emerge for tourism.”