Statement from Destination Plymouth, 23 March

The government has advised against all but essential travel, so in the interest of public safety we are asking you to please stay at home and postpone any planned trips to Plymouth. You can access all the latest government advice and health and safety guidelines here.

We’ll be delighted to welcome you back with open arms to Britain’s Ocean City at a later date.

#ComeBackLater

Information for businesses

Advice for tourism businesses is regularly updated by Visit Britain and can also be found on the Invest Plymouth COVID-19 business support page. You can also contact Plymouth City Council’s Economic Development team if you have specific concerns and are in need of support.  

Information for visitors

Given the fast-moving situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and especially the Prime Minister’s orders to close all holiday accommodation, tourism businesses are coping with events completely outside their control whilst facing an avalanche of cancellations and refund requests.

We have tremendous sympathy for our visitors who have had their holidays and breaks in Plymouth cancelled as a result of  the current crisis.

We will miss them and are looking forward to seeing them later in the year and we fully understand their worries and concerns regarding their deposits and booking payments and everyone is trying their best to resolve matters as quickly as possible.

However, at the current time Visit Plymouth, as well as hundreds of tourism businesses in Plymouth are being bombarded with emails and calls from concerned customers. 

All businesses now have very few staff (some have none at all), and this is added to frustrations of customers who are emailing and calling for information and requests.

We fully recognise the concerns of our customers, but can we request that they allow businesses reasonable time to cope with this situation. Many businesses, when pushed are having to say, “I cannot or will not refund at this time”. 

This is due to businesses having to cope with:- dealing with the impact on their business; consulting with and laying off or furloughing the vast majority of their staff; cashflow management issues; attempting to fully understand and access the very recently announced Government financial support. 

One of the financial pressures being placed on businesses is caused by laying-off (furloughing) staff. This will result in businesses having to bank-roll six weeks of staff wages before they hopefully receive reimbursement from the Government at the end of April. This is combined with having no income themselves and no guarantee that their insurers will pay-out due to the forced closure.

This means they are simply not able to agree or process refunds at the current time and in some instances, due to the sheer nature and speed of this crisis, may never be able to. Put simply, businesses are struggling and almost all are in a position of ‘can’t pay’ and not necessarily ‘won’t pay’.

We are asking customers to also check with their personal travel insurance provider, as they may be able to claim against their policy as a quicker resolution.

Tourist Information Centre

In line with the latest government guidance about avoiding unnecessary social interactions due to COVID-19, we have decided to close Plymouth’s Tourist Information Centre and Mayflower Museum until further notice.

We’ll still be available to answer your queries about visiting Plymouth through an online and telephone service. Complete our online contact form, email barbicantic@plymouth.gov.uk or call 01752 306330 if you need to get in touch. We will be responding to queries between 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

You can also contact our team via the Visit Plymouth social media channels to ask any questions that you may have. 

Travel changes and transport information

Plymouth Citybus and GWR have introduced changes to their schedule with a reduced service. You can view the full story on Travel changes and transport information page.

Government emergency measures

The government is taking emergency measures to support and sustain necessary rail services, which will allow us to ensure that trains necessary for key workers and essential travel continue to operate. No other passengers should travel. As we have already announced, services will be reduced from today (23 March 2020).

Anyone holding an advance ticket will be able to refund it free of charge. All season ticket holders can claim a refund for time unused on their tickets. Ticket holders should contact their retailer for details.

For more information read the news story.