We’ve just had English Tourism Week, where we celebrate a vibrant sector that is so important to the Forest of Dean.
On Friday, I visited two of the Forest’s many tourism businesses: The Roost glamping near Mitcheldean, run by Lorraine Robinson, and The Speech House Hotel run by the Hands family.
I listened to how they had reopened safely and were looking forward to English Tourism Week.
Making up 80% of the UK’s visitor economy, English tourism in 2019 generated over £100 billion a year and supported 2.6 million jobs and is a major employer of school leavers and young people, as well as an incubator for entrepreneurs and innovation.
However, Covid has made things incredibly tough for this sector. As their local MP, I have been working very hard to have their back throughout this crisis.
In the Forest, I have been holding regular virtual meetings with local tourism businesses large and small, getting their feedback on how effective the financial support packages were.
In Westminster, I have been personally pushing for support for this sector with Ministers right up to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, who stepped up and delivered through his Budgets.
As well as the furlough and self-employed grant schemes, the hospitality, leisure and tourism sector has also received dedicated support through grants and VAT cuts as they were particularly vulnerable through lockdowns.
That’s not the only way that the Government is supporting our local tourism industry, though. The Tourism Minister, Nigel Huddleston, visited Puzzlewood with his family the other weekend and had a great time!
Meanwhile, the vaccine rollout here in Gloucestershire continues apace, with everyone over 30 now being invited to have a dose and those in their late 20s getting called up soon.
I was pleased to have my second dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday from Lydia and the team at the Forest’s vaccination hub in Cinderford. The evidence shows our vaccines remain effective against Covid including all known variants.
It’s your choice, but when I got my text message from the NHS, I got my jab. Let’s get things back to normal.