| Re: Cornwall's tourist board goes into liquidation Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 20:49, 2nd October 2025 |     |
From the BBC:
The official tourist board of Cornwall has entered voluntary liquidation, the organisation has confirmed.
A spokesperson for Visit Cornwall said the decision was due to "insurmountable financial problems". It comes after a business review and organisational changes instigated by the board in August. The spokesperson said it had been an "incredibly difficult decision" but was "the only responsible choice" and they "needed to take it before another round of membership payments was due in two months".
Chairman of the board Jon Hyatt said non-executive voluntary directors had worked "tirelessly, in an extremely challenging environment, to create a long-term sustainable future for Visit Cornwall". He said the board had explored "every avenue possible".
"We're desperately disappointed to say that today Visit Cornwall is entering into voluntary liquidation," he said. Mr Hyatt said grants from the government's Shared Prosperity Fund had been "vital" to Visit Cornwall for the past four years. The fund ends in March 2026 with no signs of a replacement programme, he added.
Along with government money, Visit Cornwall also receives funding through members and partners with the aim of promoting Cornwall as a desirable destination.
Mr Hyatt said there was an opportunity for others to "create a new voice" for the sector. He said: "We believe that there is potential for a new organisation to be that voice based on membership and business income alone, and not reliant on grant funding. While we represent more than 500 members, there are many more businesses that could be members of an organisation like this and a number of potential partnerships to explore. That was our goal and the need of the visitor economy and your support for Visit Cornwall gave us the drive to keep working to the last."
(BBC article continues)
A spokesperson for Visit Cornwall said the decision was due to "insurmountable financial problems". It comes after a business review and organisational changes instigated by the board in August. The spokesperson said it had been an "incredibly difficult decision" but was "the only responsible choice" and they "needed to take it before another round of membership payments was due in two months".
Chairman of the board Jon Hyatt said non-executive voluntary directors had worked "tirelessly, in an extremely challenging environment, to create a long-term sustainable future for Visit Cornwall". He said the board had explored "every avenue possible".
"We're desperately disappointed to say that today Visit Cornwall is entering into voluntary liquidation," he said. Mr Hyatt said grants from the government's Shared Prosperity Fund had been "vital" to Visit Cornwall for the past four years. The fund ends in March 2026 with no signs of a replacement programme, he added.
Along with government money, Visit Cornwall also receives funding through members and partners with the aim of promoting Cornwall as a desirable destination.
Mr Hyatt said there was an opportunity for others to "create a new voice" for the sector. He said: "We believe that there is potential for a new organisation to be that voice based on membership and business income alone, and not reliant on grant funding. While we represent more than 500 members, there are many more businesses that could be members of an organisation like this and a number of potential partnerships to explore. That was our goal and the need of the visitor economy and your support for Visit Cornwall gave us the drive to keep working to the last."
(BBC article continues)
| Re: Cornwall's tourist board goes into liquidation Posted by grahame at 21:14, 23rd August 2025 | |
August bank holiday weekend and the Visit Cornwall web site has had a bit of a mare by their own account. They'll no doubt have it fixed dreckly.
Mark
https://visitcornwall.com/
Mark
https://visitcornwall.com/
Ooops ... but at least they know they have a problem and have a holding page in place with a sense of humour and a stated timescale.
| Re: Cornwall's tourist board goes into liquidation Posted by Mark A at 21:02, 23rd August 2025 | |
August bank holiday weekend and the Visit Cornwall web site has had a bit of a mare by their own account. They'll no doubt have it fixed dreckly.
Mark
https://visitcornwall.com/
| Cornwall's tourist board goes into liquidation Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 21:19, 26th January 2015 | |
From Western Morning News:
Under threat Visit Cornwall up for national marketing award
#LoveCornwall Night train film
The closure-threatened organisation which promotes Cornwall to the rest of the world has been shortlisted for a national marketing award.
Visit Cornwall is in line for Best Use of Film in The Travel Marketing Awards 2015 for its #LoveCornwall film series.
The shortlisting recognises the series of films as one of the best performing promotional campaigns of last year. Visit Cornwall is now assured of at least a runner-up trophy when the Awards are announced at Grosvenor House in London on 19 March - which ironically could coincide with the Cornwall Council funded organisation being disbanded as the local authority struggles to make almost ^200 million in savings.
Only last week all 16 staff at Visit Cornwall were given redundancy notices and may all lose their jobs if a deal is not found for the private sector to take over the running of the tourism organisation.
Malcolm Bell, head of Visit Cornwall told the WMN that all was needed to save Visit Cornwall was for the council to agree a ^300,000 transition grant.
The #LoveCornwall film series was created to champion the county as a unique, rich and diverse holiday destination and to create a ^buzz^ about Cornwall among the digital community.
Each film is an individual short story, using clever and succinct storytelling; creativity; beautiful imagery; evocative music; and fun animation, to bring to life Cornwall^s unique characteristics and characters.
The films use a variety of approaches; drama, documentary and poetry, to emotionally connect with the audience.
Themes include spending quality time with our families ^ in the film ^Fathers and Sons^ which follows three generations on a camping trip to Lansallos, and celebrating lesser known traditions such as pub singing in ^A Cornish Jukebox^.
Released around key dates such as Father^s Day and St Piran^s Day, the films were distributed across Visit Cornwall^s established platforms, including the award-winning website, visitcornwall.com, as well as to the media and partners in the tourism industry.
To date, the eight films in the series have generated a total of 126,783 views and have contributed to the Visit Cornwall YouTube channel passing a milestone of over 1,250,000 million views.
Lauren Hogan, digital marketing manager at Visit Cornwall said: ^We wanted to utilise video content to tell great stories. The #LoveCornwall film series has an authenticity and eclecticism that is rare in destination tourism promotion. Our films have been described as trailblazing in destination marketing and without doubt have played an important role in Visit Cornwall^s record-breaking achievements which saw the website increase by an unprecedented 40% to three million visits last year.
^I am proud that the series has not only been such a success with visitors but also with the tourism industry who have used and shared the films themselves ^ to now have recognition from industry professionals is a huge coup and I am thrilled to have our work shortlisted in these Awards.^
Commissioned by Visit Cornwall, the Cornwall Development Company tourism service, the films were created by De Facto Films and Sound View Media and can be viewed at www.visitcornwall.com.
Now in their seventh year, The Travel Marketing Awards are organised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing^s Travel Industry Group. They aim to raise marketing standards across the travel industry by showcasing best practice.
Alongside Visit Cornwall, the shortlist, which spans 34 categories, includes the likes of British Airways, First Choice and Premier Inn, as well as another Cornish favourite, the Eden Project and First Great Western.
#LoveCornwall Night train film
The closure-threatened organisation which promotes Cornwall to the rest of the world has been shortlisted for a national marketing award.
Visit Cornwall is in line for Best Use of Film in The Travel Marketing Awards 2015 for its #LoveCornwall film series.
The shortlisting recognises the series of films as one of the best performing promotional campaigns of last year. Visit Cornwall is now assured of at least a runner-up trophy when the Awards are announced at Grosvenor House in London on 19 March - which ironically could coincide with the Cornwall Council funded organisation being disbanded as the local authority struggles to make almost ^200 million in savings.
Only last week all 16 staff at Visit Cornwall were given redundancy notices and may all lose their jobs if a deal is not found for the private sector to take over the running of the tourism organisation.
Malcolm Bell, head of Visit Cornwall told the WMN that all was needed to save Visit Cornwall was for the council to agree a ^300,000 transition grant.
The #LoveCornwall film series was created to champion the county as a unique, rich and diverse holiday destination and to create a ^buzz^ about Cornwall among the digital community.
Each film is an individual short story, using clever and succinct storytelling; creativity; beautiful imagery; evocative music; and fun animation, to bring to life Cornwall^s unique characteristics and characters.
The films use a variety of approaches; drama, documentary and poetry, to emotionally connect with the audience.
Themes include spending quality time with our families ^ in the film ^Fathers and Sons^ which follows three generations on a camping trip to Lansallos, and celebrating lesser known traditions such as pub singing in ^A Cornish Jukebox^.
Released around key dates such as Father^s Day and St Piran^s Day, the films were distributed across Visit Cornwall^s established platforms, including the award-winning website, visitcornwall.com, as well as to the media and partners in the tourism industry.
To date, the eight films in the series have generated a total of 126,783 views and have contributed to the Visit Cornwall YouTube channel passing a milestone of over 1,250,000 million views.
Lauren Hogan, digital marketing manager at Visit Cornwall said: ^We wanted to utilise video content to tell great stories. The #LoveCornwall film series has an authenticity and eclecticism that is rare in destination tourism promotion. Our films have been described as trailblazing in destination marketing and without doubt have played an important role in Visit Cornwall^s record-breaking achievements which saw the website increase by an unprecedented 40% to three million visits last year.
^I am proud that the series has not only been such a success with visitors but also with the tourism industry who have used and shared the films themselves ^ to now have recognition from industry professionals is a huge coup and I am thrilled to have our work shortlisted in these Awards.^
Commissioned by Visit Cornwall, the Cornwall Development Company tourism service, the films were created by De Facto Films and Sound View Media and can be viewed at www.visitcornwall.com.
Now in their seventh year, The Travel Marketing Awards are organised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing^s Travel Industry Group. They aim to raise marketing standards across the travel industry by showcasing best practice.
Alongside Visit Cornwall, the shortlist, which spans 34 categories, includes the likes of British Airways, First Choice and Premier Inn, as well as another Cornish favourite, the Eden Project and First Great Western.
