Hospitality suffers as number of visitors falls

DEVON AND CORNWALL SEE DECLINE IN TOURIST VISITS

TOURIST numbers this summer are reportedly down in Devon and Cornwall, figures show.

The South West Business Council said feedback from businesses along with traffic analysis suggested visitor numbers were down between 17% and 20% this summer to date. Some businesses suggested tourists were also spending less.

The BBC reports that both Visit Devon and Visit Cornwall have suggested visitor numbers are down. Figures reveal they are down by between 16% to 20% for Devon and 10% for Cornwall.

Sally Everton, head of Visit Devon, told the BBC: "If we'd had a really cracking start weather-wise to the summer holiday, we'd have done very well, but that didn't really materialise for us.