CORNWALL is preparing to be even busier this summer than it was last year.
The county is expectingnearly three million visitors over the course of the summer season – 10 per cent more than 2020 thanks to a combination of vaccine confidence and uncertainty over foreign holidays.
Malcolm Bell, boss of Visit Cornwall told Sun Online Travel: "We are expecting more people this summer, it's a combination of Cornish people not going abroad, more campers and an awful lot of people visiting relatives.
"Older people who would have been more cautious last year will now have been vaccinated too.
"So they might come down for a holiday or there will be pensioners in Cornwall who will be inviting their families down. It'll be 10 per cent busier this year, if not more."
Last summer, there was a backlash from a minority of the Cornish population against tourists visiting the county.
On one weekend in July, holidaymakers heading to Cornwall were greeted by a person dressed as the grim reaper, holding a sign saying: ‘turn around and f*** off’ and there were numerous complaints on social media about a lack of social distancing.
But Mr Bell believes that local nerves around visitors have eased this year.
He said: "Last year we had 2.5 million customers down and public health said we did a brilliant job with no cross infection.
"People are still nervous because because the place is nice and quiet at the moment and they like to have the place to themselves, but they're more worried about road congestion and litter now than the infection rate.
"Last summer Covid hadn't really hit Cornwall so people were very worried about bringing infections in, but we did have a wave in January, so we're more on the national curve now.
"And having a good summer is important to businesses that rely on tourism in the county – even if you have a very good year, we'll still make
only 85 percent maximum of normal annual turnover."
Last month, Sun Online Travel revealed that Brits wanting a holiday in Cornwall this summer have been put on waiting lists due to highdemand.
Mr Bell warned that Brits are so desperate that they are asking fully booked destinations to contact them for cancellations.
Demand is so high that it has even spread to Christmas, with accommodation websites saying they have seen a surge in bookings for the festive period.
We've found a number of holiday parks with availability in the summer though, with prices from £18 per person a night.
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