Covid travel curbs lead to Cotswolds tourism boost

Andrew Lund-Yates, who runs Bourton-on-the-Water model village, said visitors numbers were 10-20% higher than 2019

A surge in domestic tourism, as a result of uncertainty around Covid-19 travel restrictions, has seen high visitor numbers in the Cotswolds.

Cotswolds Tourism said the area was extremely busy and people were appreciating "what's on our doorstep".

Simone Chilton, from Chester House Hotel in Bourton-on-the-Water, said they had been "inundated with mainly British tourists" since lockdown ended.

Visit England warned foreign visitor numbers might not recover for years.

Hotel reception manager Ms Chilton said: "It's been really busy."

"I can't think of any foreign tourists [we've had] this year. Normally we'd have a lot more Americans, Australians, Chinese, Japanese, but we haven't got them this year."

Cotswold Tourism said its website had received 58% more page views recently than in the same period before the pandemic

Chris Jackson, from Cotswolds Tourism, said there remained a lot of interest in the Cotswolds from overseas but Visit England was not expecting numbers to return to 2019 levels for a few more years.

An RAC survey suggests the West Country, including Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset, could see a spike in tourism this summer because of people's uncertainty about foreign holiday restrictions and quarantine requirements.

Mr Jackson said the Cotswolds was already experiencing an uptick in tourism as Covid-19 recovery funds had allowed them to digitally promote the area to domestic audiences and market "experiences on your door".

There were also 58% more visits to Cotswolds Tourism's website compared to the same period in 2019, with record figures in May, June and July.

Andrew Lund-Yates, who runs Bourton-on-the-Water's model village as well as a bed and breakfast, said visitor numbers were between 10-20% higher than at this time in 2019.

"We are not seeing any international tourists yet but we are starting to see bookings from farther afield - from America and China again - for next year," he added.