The Truth About Tourism & Cornwall

Well, the time when many local folks go into forced hibernation is fast approaching, as the annual invasion will soon be upon us. Many say that Cornwall depends on tourism. That comment is often arrogantly rammed down our throats by people from elsewhere in an attempt to say that 'we are dependent on them and their English pounds'. (We read it so many times as well. Soon too we shall again witness undersized England football shirts stretched across oversized bellies as we are constantly reminded that their football team just about won a cup in....1966......yawn!) 

However, the facts about tourism are far different.

Cornwall's annual economy is worth £9 billion a year, of which £1.8bn comes from tourism.

Tourism is outdone by agriculture, fishing and food processing many times over.

Cornwall is home to 555,000 permanent residents, and that is dramatically increasing by at least 5,000 a year.

Cornwall has a summer population of between 770,000 and 850,000 at any one time.

The number of vehicles on the A38/A30 turn off at Bodmin peaked to 42,000 a day in August 2017.

The '999' services struggle to cope although are expected to do so with no extra funding from the invasion. 276 people were seriously injured or killed (including 22 fatalities) on Cornwall's roads in 2016 and a further 1,485 people slightly injured.

Six cyclists were injured, 185 bikers were injured and five died on our roads while there were 1,306 injured to car drivers or passengers with 13 fatalities.

Our current police funding allocation from central government is based upon our resident population and takes no account of tourism.

Environmental damage caused is enormous.

There were 12,000 admissions to minor injury units in August 2016 and 9,000 to A&E at Treliske, numbers dropped to about 7,000 in each case in February 2017.

To pay for tourism, residents in Cornwall pay the highest water rates in the UK. In 2015/16, consumers paid £495 a year compared with £363 in Yorkshire or £369 in the Thames Valley area, two other strong tourism regions. Last year prices had increased across the board, but again South West Water consumers have paid more than anyone else with prices of £497 compared with £366 in Yorkshire and £372 in greater London. Severn Trent Water customer have the lowest annual bills at £341. We pay for their sewerage and to clean up after them on the beaches.

3% of Britain's population supports the clean-up of 30% of Britains bathing waters.

Tourism is not quite what it seems nor quite what we were promised it would bring 50 years ago! We pay very dearly for it. Only a percentage of the money raised from this so called 'industry' remains in our Duchy and the employment created is seasonal, low paid and attracts temporary workers from outside Cornwall.

To quote the late and very great Cornish MP David Penhaligon: 'You need more in an economy than just tourism, ice cream and deckchairs.'

This nasty and damaging mass tourism is not an 'industry' at all. It is destructive, costly in so many ways and widely loathed by the indigeneous Cornish. 

Cornish author, archaeologist, historian and environmental campaigner, Craig Weatherhill has said: "Our entire tourism strategy is 50 years out of date. We don't need the sun, sea and bouncy castle rabble who drive down our roads chucking everything they can out onto our verges, or play loud radios on beaches. Keep them in Clacton. We have a Mining World Heritage Site, and 10 years on, tourism is doing nothing to promote it. All around the world, in many countries, are the Cornish diaspora, millions of them, and most of the areas they live in are now affluent, so they'll bring money when they come. It is said that a million people of Cornish descent live in California alone! The bulk of our tourism budget and resources should be spent in inviting them home, to see where great-grandaddy lived and where he worked, and what his distant ancestors built in our countryside. We need them, and we need the discerning, enquiring type of tourist from Britain, Ireland and Europe. People who will respect and care for the place they come to, and leave it as they found it. So, come on, Malcolm Bell and the rest of you - drop the lowest-common-denominator Hi-de-Hi style of tourism, up the standards, and promote for intelligent, caring tourism. "

That famous, or should we say infamous website: http://www.porthemmet.com/

The award winning Cornish Film Festival film based on the same theme: https://vimeo.com/53210135

Kernow bys vyken!

John, Teresa, Craig, Tony, Matt, Mike, Clive, Ronan, Alex & Mark

Elected Members of the KMTU Steering Group