South West tourism prepares for a challenging 2025

I think with most years there is good and bad news as far as the hospitality and tourism industry is concerned in the coming year.

Optimism is really key for many small and medium-sized businesses and the past 6 months has drained the life out of even the most positive and upbeat business owners as well as most of the general public. 

We have been let down with broken promises, underhand tax collecting with National Insurance and spiteful politicking as far as the family farms are concerned by the incoming Labour government.

In 2025 we will all face the challenges of inflation which I think will come back into our radars as a major concern as increase in pay rates will feed into higher prices. 

Inflation busting public sector pay rises for junior doctors and train drivers could set the tone for others and increased labour costs will inevitably feed into higher prices in all areas and particularly the low-income areas like the south west where many are on or just above the minimum wage and will be significantly affected by the increases in the National Insurance and the huge reduction in the NI thresholds.

Businesses are currently holding back on investment and looking to reduce employment rather than taking the risk on opportunities and this will only put a huge break on any idea of growth in the economy.

As a business, I will continue to innovate and look at new ideas and we are relocating an artisan bakery to provide super fresh healthy sourdough breads for our restaurants.

We are looking forward to more opportunities with festivals and events, encouraging people to stay on site and again in 2025 planning to host the North Devon mini run for our eleventh year.  

The minis now enjoy the August bank holiday music event. Last year Chris Moyles and the 80’s ABBA reunion event were both hugely popular.

There are 4000 houses being built within a few miles of The BIG Sheep and the new Ofsted registered Barefoot Nursery goes from strength to strength with a fabulous team and a waiting list of children within its first year of operation.

I feel one of the keys for success in 2025 for Devon tourism businesses is partnerships – working together for mutual benefit. 

We have had some very successful sponsorships with our festivals and events and have already agreed exciting new partnership deals for the coming year.

I am the current chair of Devon’s Top Attractions who are great examples of the individuals working together for a huge multiplier towards benefits for everyone. 

Major players like Paignton Zoo, the National Marine Aquarium and the National Trust are now key members of these top attractions.

By marketing together, the group have seen a huge rise in website traffic and effectiveness in 2024 and again the future is bright going into 2025.

Another key area for tourism and hospitality is the investment in technology. Increasing productivity and making the customer journey for booking and attraction entry much smoother. 

We have new entry scanning which speeds up the process, reduces the number of reception team and avoids queues. 

More is going online and again working with partners who have the skills has been a gamechanger for our marketing. 

We work with the local team at Roots Creative, who have taken this to a new level - enabling more targeted campaigns 

2025 may be the most challenging year since Covid and the new government needs to learn quickly how businesses can’t continue to bear the brunt of their tax increases and they must encourage the entrepreneurs and small businesses who are a key heartbeat of the economy, especially in the country areas like Devon

I am and will always be optimistic about the future, love to take on the challenges head on, but the key is not to be delusional, but accept the reality of the situation we are all going to be in.  

We must all change, adapt and come up with new ways to operate.

It will never be as it was pre Covid but the best businesses will always thrive in their sector and when some are unable to survive the change there will be opportunities for others. 

I do expect many who are already on the edge to close in the next few months. Hospitality is going to be in the eye of the storm, big increases in the minimum wage and the change in the national insurance bands will have a disproportionate impact on our South West hospitality businesses.  

I don’t believe our customers will accept higher entry fees and only small increases in food drink and retail, so monitoring costs will be critical. 

We also need to look for areas of improvement and opportunities to shape a business which will thrive in this coming year.

I wish you all success and survival, hang on to your hats, this is going to be a bumpy ride!!

Rick Turner

Director of the Flock