Half Term Local Event: Cornwall Open for Tourism

Geevor Tin Mine 16 – 23 February, Pendeen 
An award winning museum situated on the dramatic Cornish coastline and one of the largest preserved mine sites in the country and a Cornish Mining World Heritage Site. Here you can experience an 18th century underground tour, get hands on in the interactive “Hard Rock Museum”, explore the abandoned buildings, walk the dramatic coastline and get stuck in to plenty of family activities and events all year round. Throughout the half-term there will be extra activities including hand drilling, miners tales and craft making. www.geevor.com

For more half term visit ideas go to www.visitcornwall.com

Rick Stein joins Cornwall to shout Open for Business

Well-known restaurateur and chef, Rick Stein, has joined Cornwall in a high-profile campaign to fight against sensationalist reports that Cornwall is ‘cut-off’ following the recent storms.

The Padstow based Cornwall ambassador, features in a short video which aims to restore visitor confidence by showcasing Cornwall as being open and ready to extend a warm welcome. Stein comments: “The way the storms have been reported it almost seems as if Cornwall is shut off. I did a little tweet the other day saying that it is a lovely day in Padstow and that I had been for a swim, my wife rang me up and questioned if I should be saying this at this terrible time – but why not? Cornwall is as beautiful as ever and there’s no reason why people shouldn’t come and enjoy it!”

The video, which focuses on things to do during next weeks half-term school holiday, was commissioned by Visit Cornwall, the Cornwall Development Company tourism service, to readdress the misconception that the whole of Cornwall is affected and to squash concerns that Cornwall is inaccessible. Malcolm Bell, Head of Visit Cornwall, explains: “Whilst some parts of Cornwall have taken a battering and the damage to the rail network is causing some travel disruption, it needs to be stressed that all other travel links into Cornwall are running as normal – in fact they are thriving, with the number of flights between London Gatwick and Newquay Cornwall Airport doubling to six a day from Wednesday (12 February).

“The small areas affected are very localised and being used to this weather, our businesses are being characteristically resilient and dusting themselves off. Cornwall is very much open for business and raring to go – February half-term is a great time to visit!”

With its Freaky Nature half-term activities the Eden Project also adds strength to the campaign. Sir Tim Smit adds: “It has been one of the wettest early winters we’ve ever seen but we’ve also had some gorgeous sunny days. Cornwall is of course open and we are expecting a large number of visitors to come and enjoy what we have to offer here during half-term. Even when it’s stormy and raining outside, it’s nice and warm in our Biomes. We probably have one of the best and most spectacular undercover attractions anywhere in the world.”

As well as distributing the video to the national and regional media, Visit Cornwall has shared it with industry partners such as VisitEngland, and is posting it across social media platforms using #openforbusiness. The Visit Cornwall website, www.visitcornwall.com, and blog is also supporting the ‘open for business’ message with lots of information and ideas, including 12 experiences not to miss this February half-term, 5 all-weather activity ideas, and links to top gardens and arts and cultural attractions that are open for half-term.

The tourism industry can get behind the campaign by using and sharing any of this content on their own websites and social media profiles.

For more information and to view the video visit www.visitcornwall.com and http://youtu.be/oNgG6VRtaQw