Coronavirus UK: Tourism boards urge people to stay at home

Tourism chiefs today urged Britons to stay away from beauty spots after the Government said people could travel as far as they like for unlimited exercise.

Bosses in Cornwall and Cumbria were among those asking people not to travel to their beaches and lakes, while Brighton council’s chief told tourists to ‘stay away’.

And Cotswolds Tourism warned: ‘We certainly won’t be encouraging anyone to visit the Cotswolds before hospitality businesses are open to welcome them.’ 

Meanwhile travelling to Wales and Scotland for leisure trips is still not allowed, with the ‘stay home’ message remaining in place outside of England.

It came as Ministers revealed their strategy for exiting the coronavirus lockdown which has kept much of the country indoors for the past 49 days.

People can now go on walks in the countryside, sunbathe outside, and travel longer distances if they stay two metres apart from those from other households.

A sign warns people to stay away from the Cornish village of Constantine Bay on April 7

A sign attatched to a road sign near the village of Cerrigydrudion in North Wales on March 23

Meanwhile garden centres, golf clubs and tennis courts are readying to reopen this week – provided social distancing is enforced.

Sunny weather in recent days has increased fears that people will travel long distances to visit beaches in the south east.

The National Trust confirmed today that officials are now working through the new guidance to see if they are able to reopen any of their closed sites – but there are no immediate plans to reopen these or their car parks.

A spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Following the Prime Minister’s broadcast outlining the Government’s gradual roadmap out of lockdown we will begin to review its effect on our reopening plans.’

Also after the plans emerged, an English Heritage spokesman said: ‘Like many, we are digesting the Government’s latest announcement and awaiting the further details. As soon as we are in position to confirm our plans, we will update you.’ 

Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s address to the UK on Sunday, one council leader said there was ‘ambiguity’ in the Government’s messaging.

A sign reads ‘This Village is Closed’ in Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds on April 11

The empty town centre of Windermere in the Lake District is pictured on March 23

Nancy Platts, who is the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said: ‘We want a slow, steady and safe progression towards lockdown lifting.

‘We want to make sure we are stepping forward in a measured way. We know restrictions will need to stay in place for a long time to come.

‘We want the restrictions to be lifted carefully in a positive direction. Our priority is to keep people who live in the city safe. One concern is around how residents can maintain physical distancing in our busy city if we have an influx of visitors.

‘The Prime Minister has said that hospitality and leisure businesses are not likely to open before July. The shops and attractions are still closed and we want people who do not live in Brighton and Hove to stay away.’

And Cotswolds Tourism told Sky News: ‘We hope that this week’s ministerial briefings will clarify the situation. We assume that the Prime Minister meant (and the briefings will make clear) that people are free to enjoy any parks and beaches near to them: where social distancing should be possible.

‘However, with hospitality businesses closed until at least July – along with many car parks and public toilets – it is hard to see how or why anyone could/should travel far from home. 

Strawberry Hill Golf Club in West London prepares to open today as the lockdown is eased

A man picks up flowers at the Sandy Lane garden centre and nursery in Liverpool this morning

‘We certainly won’t be encouraging anyone to visit the Cotswolds before hospitality businesses are open to welcome them.’

The Welsh Government’s counsel general, Jeremy Miles, added to the BBC the rules ‘do not permit people to get in their car and drive to destinations in Wales’.

‘And that also means people getting in their cars in England,’ he said.

He told the daily Welsh Government press conference: ‘I want to be clear – in Wales, it is Welsh law which applies.’

Nicola Sturgeon has also said that abandoning the stay at home message in Scotland and following Boris Johnson’s easing of lockdown would put lives at risk. 

The Foresty Commission also urged people to stay at home and only travel to woods if they live nearby and can walk there.

A spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Although this is great news and we look forward to welcoming visitors back to the nation’s forests as soon as we can, our priority is to keep people safe. 

The government issued a series of graphics last night to illustrate the potential path out of the coronavirus lockdown

‘We are swiftly reviewing how we can re-open our car parks and other facilities while still managing our forests safely and supporting social distancing. We will keep our website up to date with our plans.

‘Until then, please continue to avoid making unnecessary journeys and do not travel to the nation’s forests. Local people can still walk and cycle to our forests but must follow government rules on social distancing’.

Officials in the Lake District urged those not to travel to their beauty spots, and told them to ‘look at their conscious’ and stay at home.

Cumbria’s tourism board tweeted last night: ‘We are shocked by the timing and short notice of tonight’s announcement. 

‘We are awaiting further details but the safety of residents must come first. For now, tourism businesses in Cumbria remain closed and we urge everyone to continue to #StayHome.’  

Golfers wear facemasks as they stand outside the ‘proshop’ while preparing for a practice session at The ‘Bluegreen’ Golf Course in Saint Aubin, south-west of Paris

A golfer wears a facemask as he pushes his trolley ahead of a practice session at The ‘Bluegreen’ Golf Course in Saint Aubin

South Lakes police also urged people to ‘take a long hard look’ at their conscious before heading to the Lake District.

Sharing a map which showed the North West as the worst affected area of the UK, they said: ‘Before considering travelling to #Cumbria #LakeDistrict please grab a brew, examine this map, and take a long hard look at your own conscience. 

‘We urge you to use common sense and to continue to exercise close to your own home. We need to break the cycle of infection #lockdown’

Earlier this month, the North West of England passed London as the epicentre of the UK’s coronavirus outbreak, with more people in the region in hospital with the illness than in the capital. 

Officials in Cornwall have also urged tourists to stay away until July.

Malcom Bell, the chief executive of Visit Conrwall, told Cornwall Live the Prime Minster’s speech added more confusion than clarity.  

‘The bottom line though is that we don’t want people turning up in Cornwall on Wednesday.

Both Nicola Sturgeon (left) and Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford (right) have said the easing of lockdown does not applying in Scotland and Wales

‘He said from Wednesday onwards so I am hoping this 50-page document will spell out the limitations on that. I’d hope it would say no travelling of more than 10 miles something along those lines.’

 ‘I would hope that the increased police powers and fines will act as stronger deterrent to prevention long or unjustifiable journeys to places like Cornwall,’ he added.   

The warning comes despite a new study showing jobs in Britain’s top holiday destinations among those most at risk due to coronavirus.

The futures of more than 30 per cent of positions in areas such as Cornwall, the Cotswolds and the Isle of Wight are threatened in light of the pandemic, according to analysis by The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

A map, pictured, shows the 20 local authority areas where the most jobs are at risk, according to an RSA study

Many resident of holiday towns have made it clear that they do not want tourists visiting during the pandemic. A message reading ‘tourists go home’ is scrawled on the beach in St Ives in March 

This angry sign in north Wales reads: ‘Snowdonia is closed. F*** off home!’, as locals hit out at tourists

Countryside dwellers are blasting city residents who are fleeing places like London for idyllic retreats (pictured, one person erected a sign on a roadside near Pembrokeshire) 

The research suggests some 66,878 jobs could be lost on England’s southwestern tip, traditionally inundated with swathes of tourists and holidaymakers during the summer months.

In the Outer Hebrides, more than 2000 people have signed a petition to crackdown on lockdown-breaking ferry passengers coming to the islands.

The region has just six confirmed cases of coronavirus, but the authorities are now being urged to clamp down on visitors breaking the rules entering the Western Isles.

The petition – which urges tighter enforcement of travel restrictions – comes after new visitors were recently spotted and the death of six residents with Covid-19 at a care home on neighbouring Skye.

Tennis, fishing and unlimited exercise allowed from Wednesday 

People will be allowed to play tennis and go fishing from Wednesday as the Government eases lockdown restrictions to allow for unlimited outdoor exercise.

The Government’s coronavirus recovery strategy said that from May 13, people will be allowed to exercise ‘as many times each day as they wish’ with one other person from outside their household.

People will also be allowed to drive to parks and other open spaces ‘irrespective’ of how far away they are located.

While recreational activities such as tennis and angling will be permitted, team sports will not be allowed ‘except with members of your own household’, the strategy, which was published on Monday, said.

Playgrounds, outdoor gyms and ‘ticketed outdoor leisure venues’ – where there is a higher risk of close contact – also remain off-limits under step one of the plans.

The reopening of such leisure facilities may only be ‘fully possible significantly later’ depending on the reduction in infections, it added.

The document warned that if people break the rules and begin to mix in groups in parks, the infection rate could increase and trigger the need for further restrictions.

Under the guidelines, those exercising outdoors must comply with the two-metre (6ft) social distancing rule when around people they do not live with.

People will be allowed to drive to outdoor open spaces as ‘this does not involve contact with people outside your household’, the Government said.

However, it added: ‘When travelling to outdoor spaces, it is important that people respect the rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and do not travel to different parts of the UK where it would be inconsistent with guidance or regulations issued by the relevant devolved administration.’

According to advice from the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage), the risk of infection outdoors is ‘significantly lower’ than inside.

The strategy said: ‘These measures may come with some risk; it is important that everyone continues to act responsibly, as the large majority have done to date.

‘The infection rate will increase if people begin to break these rules and, for example, mix in groups in parks, which will trigger the need for further restrictions.’

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