Written evidence submitted by 1066 Country Marketing
Introduction
1066 Country Marketing is the private/public sector tourism partnership responsible for marketing eastern East Sussex, covering all of Hastings and Rother Council areas, and the southeastern quadrant of Wealden Council. It includes Hastings, Bexhill, Battle, Rye, Camber, Herstmonceux and Pevensey. It has been in existence for almost 30 years, and although predominantly public sector funded it has an independent chair and strong private sector representation on its board.
In a normal year tourism supports c15 200 actual (c10 800FTE) jobs in 1066 Country, and generates around £665m for the local economy. This is particularly important as the area contains some major pockets of deprivation. Hastings itself is the most deprived town in the south east of England and the second most deprived seaside resort in the country, after Blackpool; there are also significant areas of deprivation in Bexhill and Rye.
It is not just traditional tourism in 1066 Country. The cultural sector has had significant public investment over the last 20 years, and is a key driver for the sector. The De La Warr Pavilion has annual footfall of over 400k visits and generates over £16m to the local economy. The Hastings Contemporary gallery, formerly the Jerwood Gallery, opened in Hastings in 2012 and has been a significant force in both attracting high spending, often staying, visitors, and helping to change the traditional image of Hastings. Bridgepoint, recently opened in Rye, has just started to have the same impact.
Immediate impact of Covid-19
1066 Country was one of the first areas of the UK to feel the impact of Covid-19, on its language school business. Around 35 000 language students study in 1066 Country in a usual year, and as Covid-19 spread across mainland Europe different countries started to restrict outbound travel. This started with France in early March then spread to the Netherlands, and finally, by 14th March Germany, the latter the biggest single source of language students for this area. Few of our language schools expect significant business to return this year. The language school business contributes around £35m to the local economy, so is vital in its own right, but also culturally enriches the area (including the host families, often in the more deprived parts of the region). This market collapse predated the early UK government advice to avoid public gatherings, on 16th March, which itself led to the closure of most of our attractions. The formal ‘lockdown’ announcement on 23rd March meant the closure of all attractions, and virtually all accommodation providers (the only exceptions to this being residential/key workers/homeless provision). A small number of restaurants have repurposed themselves as takeaways, as has been allowed, and some (but not all) takeaways have remained open.
In the early days of the lockdown, 1066 Country residents generally abided by the government’s social distancing instructions; Rother District Council closed the Camber Sands car parks once the lockdown was announced, as Camber was seen as a potential problem point. Hastings Borough Council initially partially closed one of its two large seafront car parks, the second remained fully open but was almost completely empty in the early days of full lockdown.
However, as the lockdown eased 1066 Country became busier, with concerns about the number of visitors to both Camber Sands and Hastings beaches. The Spring Bank Holiday weekend was particularly busy, with the area receiving tens of thousands of visitors, and 1066 Country Marketing, Rother District Council and Hastings Borough Council all saying that visitors were not welcome, and to stay away.
The area has a very strong, all year round events programme, which helps sustain employment in the shoulder, and nominally closed, season. These run from ‘Fat Tuesday’ in February/March through to the Herring Fair in November, and even in the middle of winter the Hastings International Chess Congress attracts c600 players, many international, immediately after Christmas. All of the components of our events programme, which also includes the Rye International Jazz Festival, the Battle Festival, and many more, are potentially at risk, especially with the uncertainty over when ‘their’ lockdown eases, and what might be safe in the ‘new normal’ world. Event organisers and producers are extremely worried about consumer confidence many months ahead.
As noted, the cultural sector is also significant here. The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill lost over half its income overnight when the lockdown began, from commercial activity and ticket sales, and that figure is far higher now with most events pushed back into 2021. Other venues have reported similar. The cultural sector supports an ecosystem of many artists and musicians who are struggling with the government grant initiatives.
Effectively all tourism activity in 1066 Country - worth around £640m p.a., as noted - was paused from the outset of the lockdown, and is only very slowly starting again as lockdown eases.
Support provided by DCMS et al
The short-term support has generally been very well received, with a number of businesses complimenting the local authorities on how quickly their grants had been paid; one business said they received the grant much quicker than the bank loan they had also applied for. Initially a number indicated that although it may not be easy, the furloughing arrangements will see their operation survive. (But as the partial lockdown continues into the summer peak, some businesses are expressing real concerns about their future, particularly as the furlough arrangements start to draw to a close.)
As might be expected with such an inevitably broad-brush approach a number of instances have been highlighted to us of businesses that have ‘fallen through the cracks’ of support, viz :-
It should be noted that businesses were canvassed early in the lockdown, and some, but certainly not all, of these issues have now been addressed by subsequent interventions. Some of these are large employers, and there are concerns that if the issues they have raised are not dealt with urgently they may be seriously, or even fatally, damaged. More details of the individual business can be supplied on request.
Long term impacts of Covid-19 and support required
The lockdown is now easing at the time of writing (mid June), but it is far too early to talk about the long term impacts of Covid-19, and any possible mitigation, with any certainty.
There is hope that the lockdown will be further eased in the near future, before the summer peak, which will allow the many ‘SME’s (Small/Medium Enterprises) on which the tourism sector depends to reopen. This includes indoor attractions, accommodation providers, and restaurants, although there is an acknowledgement that social distancing rules will not mean a return to business as usual; this may impact some businesses more than others. Indeed, social distancing may itself be a major issue. There is real concern in particular about accommodation, with still no firm date for the sector’s re-opening, and the hoped-for date of 4th July barely a fortnight away. If accommodation providers cannot open very soon, they will have effectively lost a whole season, and will seriously struggle through the fallow winter months without further substantial aid.
To some extent social distancing is peer-monitored, but is potentially a significant challenge for some businesses, both in terms of the physical arrangements which might be necessary and the fact that their very nature might be off-putting to some would-be visitors, particularly small or very busy venues. Almost by definition tourism and hospitality is about leisure and social activity which depends on visitors interacting, so social distancing guidelines need to be clear, uanambiguous, and enforceable.
There is further uncertainty over events, which as noted above are vital here. Many destinations have a comprehensive events programme as part of their offer, and 1066 Country has more than most. These events require a long lead time, and most events locally have been cancelled until at least the end of August, and some bigger ones well beyond that, well into October. Prompt advice on what the policy towards larger events is likely to be would be welcome, in many cases bad news (no event) may be better than no news (the event is still planned for, and some costs incurred, but ultimately cancelled). There is of course little potential for large outdoor events through the winter months, so most have now been cancelled rather than just postponed, as had been hoped in the early days of the pandemic.
Our venues, themselves important elements of the tourism product, have been especially impacted. Customer confidence is expected to be low in terms of their safety, given the emphasis there has been on social distancing, and this will need to be carefully thought through if venues are not to reopen with empty houses. There are real concerns about the long term future of some of these venues, including well-established theatres.
We feel it is important to differentiate between types of events, in particular closed (within a clearly marked space, usually requiring an admission charge and where freedom to move might be limited), and open events, where the event space is much larger and generally less congested (and social distancing easier). There may be a case for promoters to restructure their events so that there is more of a balanced spread of visitors.
There is a general expectation that ‘VFR’ (Visiting Friends and Relatives) will be very strong as soon as the lockdown is eased sufficiently to allow group overnight stays, indeed pent-up demand is likely to mean that this market will surge above average initally. It is also thought that, provided the easing starts before the summer peak, there will be very strong growth in domestic tourism. Overseas travel may not be favoured, especially if quarantine rules remain in place, and/or there may be concerns about being trapped abroad if there is a second spike in Covid-19 cases. The UK domestic market may prove to be the saviour the industry desperately needs, provided the lockdown arrangements permit it. We need to ensure that the area as a whole can adapt fast enough and with a strong enough offer to really capture this potential new market:- we will only get one chance at not only attracting new visitors but also retaining them for the future. Our key is the “New Normal” generation. We also expect there to be a growth in housing demand here as those currently trapped in the city realise that they no longer want to live in congested urban centres but want quality space to live and from which they can home-work – something we are fortunate enough to have plenty of.
1066 Country, and particularly Hastings, has had a very low incidence of Covid, and Covid-related deaths, one of the very lowest in the country. Some residents are very concerned that re-opening the area to visitors will import more Covid-19, and that is having to be carefully managed.
It is therefore vital that existing businesses are not allowed to fail. We cannot afford any space in our offer, physically or metaphorically, when we fully reopen. This includes major assets which are mostly public funded, there is a real fear that these will be significantly impacted when the Covid-19 balance sheet is reconciled. We are realistic enough to realise that there may be very little public funding for anything except essentials and that we must back entrepreneurship and innovation over what has gone before.
1066 Country attracts significant numbers of overseas visitors; they generate around 20% by value of our tourism spend. Like the language student market, there is little expectation that this business will return this year. Spend per head is significantly higher for overseas visitors than domestic visitors. We have an opportunity to grow two new domestic markets – the ‘never fly/cruise again’ ‘empty nesters’ and the next generation of “New Normal” young people unable to travel abroad in the short term (Australia has already indicated that it might not open its borders until 2021). How we construct those offers and maintain them is something we should be supporting and fast tracking.
It is therefore essential that we (locally, regionally, nationally and internationally) put in place mechanisms to attract back overseas visitors, including the vitally important langauge schools, for 2021 and beyond, and re-build confidence that the area is welcoming, already perceived to be a challenge in some European markets because of Brexit. Indeed, the prospect of no-deal Brexit is again being talked about, and this could also impact on international visitor confidence. The international market is too important to abandon, but there is no doubt at all that it will be a real challenge as the rest of the world emerges from Covid-19 lockdown, so effort must go into targeting the domestic market in new and innovative ways. It may be easier to attract domestic visitors, and we might need to look at the international market as a premium value bonus rather than our bread and butter, certainly it might need more work and investment than hitherto.
A particular longer term issue relates to accommodation providers. A number have postponed bookings, in many cases until next year, rather than pay out refunds (which could have led to insolvency). That has helped short term cash flow and allowed the business to stay afloat, but may only delay the problem; they will have costs, etc., and a salary to take next year, but will have already had - and spent – their letting fee this year. A similar situation exists for events which have been rescheduled.
Finally, local residents need to be considered. In addition to the fear of visitors importing Covid here mentioned above, many communities have reclaimed their locality during the lockdown by walking, cycling and exercising, and reintroducing tourists back into the mix needs to be carefully and sympathetically done.
Lessons learned
It has to be acknowledged that the government’s prompt actions in allowing for staff to be furloughed has been a lifsaver for many businesses in the sector. Many would not have survived without it. This is probably the single most significant action the government has undertaken, with the invaluable grants coming a close second. Again these have been welcomed, particularly at the start of the season, when most seasonal businesses have no cashflow. If the tourism and hospitality industry does not fully open very soon then we would hope that consideration might be given to extending furlough for this sector.
That said, as noted above a number of local businesses have ‘slipped through the cracks’ and do not meet the various criteria for support. It is accepted that no scheme introduced at very short notice will meet the needs of every single business, but a fast-track process of dealing with these anomalies is essential. It is not acceptable for businesses, especially start-ups, who appear to be particularly disadvantaged by the emergency arrangements, to be told that they cannot be helped because they do not meet the criteria.
Some businesses have had to invest heavily in their operation just to reopen safely; an immediate response was required, and if they could demonstatrate need and evidence expenditure, a retrospective grant scheme, to help them throuigh the 2020/21 winter, would be invaluable.
Sector evolution
Covid-19 has demonstrated the agility of the sector to adapt, as many others have had to adapt. Innovative ways of trading within the rules have been found, and will no doubt continue to be found as we move into the recovery phase.
This ranges from established restaurants repurposing themselves as takeways to local museums and art galleries providing a virtual offer, which have been very well received and have attracted regional, national and international publicity. This latter approach could have other applications elsewhere, for example in terms of accessibility, and of remotely selling our product (on-line taster tours, for example), but might require additional investment, particularly for the smaller operators. If funding were available, this innovation could be enhanced and expanded.
The ability of back office staff to work off site has now also been established, and this could have long term benefits in terms of reducing overheads, and again making the workplace more accesible, both in terms of those with disabilities or other commitments to work from home, and also to allow those who don’t have access to transport, or who can’t travel, to work remotely.