Easter tourism brings £80m to Cornwall, tourism body says

Visit Cornwall chairman Malcolm Bell said income estimates were beating expectations

Visitors brought an estimated £80m to Cornwall over the bank holiday weekend despite gloomy weather and an early Easter, sector bosses have said.

It comes after organisations predicted a "challenging" weekend for tourism due to forecast wet weather.

However, Visit Cornwall chairman Malcolm Bell said income estimates were beating expectations.

"It turned out to be better than expected - we had four useable days and late bookings did come in," he said.

Boscastle in Cornwall is a popular tourism destination

The organisation said an estimated 225,000 visitors to the county over the four days would have generated about £80m - down from about £95m in 2023.

Mr Bell said the figure was still a "huge boost" despite falling short of last year's earnings.

"There were concerns because bookings were not coming in as fast as would like," he said.

"It wasn't as good an Easter as it would normally be. That said, I think we're grateful."

'Unprecedented' weather

Mr Bell said final hospitality figures - money spent on food and drink - were not yet available.

"Some could be a lot worse, some will be better; it's very variable," he said.

He added about 500,000 residents were estimated to have spent money on days out across the county during the four-day period.

"I think this year's been a bit unique," he said.

"The amount of wet weather we've had so far in the first quarter of the year has been sort of unprecedented.

"It was a very early Easter - the clocks hadn't even sprung forward when Easter arrived."