The threat of coronovirus and increasing prospect of restrictions on travel could have a major impact on the tourism industry in the Harrogate district.
With the area’s economy heavily reliant on tourists and business visitors, anything which deters people from coming – or any cancellation of large events – could have serious repercussions.
Kim Wilson, who is chair of guesthouse association Accommodation Harrogate and runs The Camberley and The Lodge with her partner, said although there had not been cancellations, occupancy rates had been below average for this time of year.
“The hardest thing to quantify is reasons for not booking,” she said. “It has been one of the quietest periods we’ve had – we’re normally full every Saturday night, but in February we’ve been half- or three-quarters full.”
Although several events around the UK, such as the London Book Fair, have been called off because of coronavirus, no conferences have yet been cancelled in Harrogate – including the Conservative Party Spring Forum, which is set to go ahead at Harrogate Convention Centre in early April.
Meanwhile, other events are still expected to go ahead this month around the district, including Harrogate Charity Beer Festival this weekend and Springtime Live at the Great Yorkshire Showground at the end of March.
Springtime Live is still going ahead as planned at the end of March
A spokesman for organisers the Yorkshire Agricultural Society said: “We continue to follow advice from the Government regarding Coronavirus and as such, there are no plans to cancel any events held here.
“Appropriate measures have been put in place including stepping up hygiene messaging across the site and we are arranging for extra sanitizing gels. We will continue to monitor the situation.”
Boost for ‘staycations’
Some hotels, meanwhile, are hoping to benefit from British people taking more holidays in the UK this year.
Simon Cotton, managing director of HRH Group, which owns The Yorkshire Hotel and The White Hart in Harrogate, said: “I’ve heard quite a lot of people saying, ‘I was going to go abroad and now I’m thinking of just making a staycation of it’.”
As vice-chair of the Harrogate Hospitality and Tourism Association, representing the larger hotels in the district, he said there did not yet seem to be any cause for alarm.
“We’re preparing in case things get worse,” he said. “That’s sensible and the right thing to do, but in the hope that these are things we won’t need to do.”
Measures being taken include stocking up on sanitising gel, carrying out additional cleaning of frequent touch-points such as door handles and lift buttons, and asking staff to report any signs of illness before coming to work.
Mr Cotton said, in the event of a hotel being directly affected by a case of coronavirus in a guest or member of staff, the association would work together to support it and to honour other guests’ bookings so they could still visit Harrogate.
