Tourism 'feeling the squeeze' ahead of bank holiday

It's been a "mixed" start of the holiday season, a tourist boss has said, with some hospitality businesses in the South West underwhelmed by visitor numbers so far.

Chair of Devon Association of Tourist Attractions (DATA) Roger Sell said bookings during the two week Easter school break had varied, with ten attractions reporting lower visitor numbers than in 2025.

It comes as Bodmin restaurant owner Ray Verman said trade this April had been the "worst he had ever seen" and was calling on the government to cut VAT for hospitality businesses.

In Newquay, Jamie Garfield said trade at his cocktail bar was up on 2025 but added the industry overall was "feeling the squeeze".

At Flory - his family run restaurant in Bodmin - Ray Verman said the business needed around 200 covers - or customers - a week, but had only been seeing around half that.

"We had a very successful 2025. We're running the same menu, with the same prices so we know it's not anything that we're doing wrong.

"It's a widespread Cornwall hospitality problem. People are just not going out," Verman added.

"We went to Padstow for a walk about and there was nobody there...

"In April it should be chockablock and it wasn't," he said, adding: "The answer in the short term, is to cut VAT."

A government spokesperson said they had "the right economic plan".

They added: "We're reforming business rates to back hospitality, with a £4.3bn support package to limit bills rises, alongside capping Corporation Tax at 25%, cutting red tape and taking action on the cost of living to boost the sector."

"The vibe has been great, the weather has really helped and we are up on April last year," said Garfield, of Tom Thumb cocktail bar in Newquay, but he added the industry was "definitely feeling the squeeze".

He said due to the cost of living crisis "people are being more sensitive about what they spend their money on and hospitality is a luxury".

"We hope that everyone that comes down appreciates how much they get from coming out, the memories they have with their families."

Joel Bishop, the owner of Westcountry Surf School in Watergate Bay, expressed disappointment about visitor numbers.

"It's been a very slow start.

"We had the awful weather over winter but as soon as the sun came out, people didn't come out with it, which makes business quite tricky at the moment."

Sally Everton, general manager of Visit Devon, identified "clear challenges ahead" for tourism businesses in the region.

She said while the Easter Bank Holiday had been busier than last year, the weeks either side had been "slow".

Keith Southwell of the Cornwall Association of Tourist Attractions (CATA) said many members had been busy over the Easter school holidays but that the rest of April had been quieter, describing the month overall as "mixed but stable".

Sell said the Easter Bank Holiday weekend itself had been busy in Devon but "around 50 percent are up on last year, around 50 percent are down."

"Whether it be costs, wage bills or advertising, everyone running a business at the minute is keeping an eye on everything they can".

"That's how close it is. You can't take your eye off the ball."

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