TOURISM chiefs in Herefordshire hope a new campaign will showcase what the county has to offer and lure visitors in.
With uncertainty surrounding holidays abroad as the Government updates its quarantine advice, meaning tourists may have to isolate for two weeks after returning to the UK.
But the body which represents Herefordshire businesses involved in the tourism industry, from hotels to leisure venues, said it’s confident people will be looking at staycations, or just days out, for the remainder of 2020.
Heidi Chamberlain Jones, managing director at Eat Sleep Live Herefordshire said: “We’re about to launch our discover your doorstep campaign which is all about reengaging the resident population and the regional population with what to do closer to home.
“It’s to get them moving about more in a safe way as opposed to getting the whole UK to descend upon us as a destination.
“That’s the big campaign at the moment and that’s what the county is wanting to drive in terms of about an hour and a half drive time; people from the West Midlands coming over, people from Wales and maybe Bristol.
“If we can keep it to those day-trippers and short weekend breaks in the smaller accommodation is what we’re after.”
It comes as a holiday park in north Herefordshire hosted a family from Enfield in London.
Youth worker Rachel Douglas, 35, was unable to visit the Caribbean this year. Instead, they were invited for a three-day break at Discover Parks in Shobdon.
After the trip to Pearl Lake with her partner Jay Reid and daughter Rhianne, Miss Douglas said: “It opened our eyes to the fact that there are other places to visit in the UK besides Devon and Cornwall and staycations in the UK can be just as lovely as going to the Caribbean.
“I’ve had loads of messages from people in my friendship circles asking for details about places like Pearl Lake, I’m guessing people in my age group and from London don’t really think of these kinds of trips until they see someone they know on one.”
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