A Dollop of Wallop by Harry Wallop
Last month, the Lake District National Park Authority published its State of the Park 2023 report, a once-every-five year event.
A major look at the landscape, the wildlife, the heritage and the economy of the national park, information crucial to all those who live and work in the area.
At least, I believe they have published it – I was unable to find it on the organisation’s website, despite fairly assiduous searching. Does someone want to give the LDNPA a prod?
The key fact that has emerged – thanks to The Keswick Reminder and others publishing a few details from the report – is that tourism has yet to recover to pre-Covid levels.
All those stories about the “Magaluf crowd” descending on the Lakes, wild campers, litterers, wild swimmers and joy riders ruining the area are not quite borne out by the facts.
The number of people visiting the Lake District in 2022 totalled 18.14 million, down from the 19.89 who visited in 2019. Now, it’s possible it will have climbed up in 2023, but it’s fair to say that it has not been a bonanza year for tourism in the north Lakes.
Why? Well, obviously there’s been the cost of living crisis: holidaymakers’ budgets have been squeezed, train travel has become astronomically expensive and inflation has hit everything from a pint of beer to a stay in a luxury spa hotel.
But there’s another reason – a shortage of workers. A large number of pubs, restaurants and hotels have cut back either what they offer or the hours they open because they just can’t find enough staff.
This isn’t a problem unique to the Lakes. Everywhere in the UK (indeed in large parts of the world) is suffering from the fact that people left the workforce during lockdown and never came back.
The national park, however, has always been heavily reliant on migrant workers to do the thankless jobs in hospitality.
With all that in mind, the proposal of the Government to increase the minimum salary needed for a foreign national to work in Britain to £38,700 from £26,200 is utterly bonkers. Whatever your views on immigration, this will destroy large swathes of Keswick and the Lake District’s tourist industry for good.
Bar staff, chambermaids, waiters, chefs – these roles have always been done by foreign nationals willing to come here, work hard, earn a modest salary and in many cases choose to make the Lakes their home.
The Government proposal is meant to encourage employers to either pay more for skilled workers or hire more Brits for lower paid jobs.
That isn’t going to happen. Since the days of Auguste Escoffier, coming over to run the kitchens of the Savoy hotel in 1890, Britain’s hospitality industry has been staffed by foreigners.
Insisting they earn above-average wages will be the quickest way to ensure the Lake District is rewilded with nothing but locals.
