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Great Days Out, Close to Home campaign to support county’s businesses
22nd October 2020
An autumn county-wide campaign to encourage people to support local businesses, hospitality venues and popular attractions has been launched by Visit Essex.
The Great Days Out, Close to Home campaign will support the local tourism, hospitality and retail sectors by encouraging people to discover and visit the many hidden gems and attractions throughout Essex, especially with the approaching half term school holidays.
Despite the County coming under High local Covid alert level restrictions*, local businesses and hospitality venues are open as usual as long as customers are from a single household when meeting indoors, while up to six people are permitted outdoors. Many businesses and attractions have met the We’re Good to Go industry standard - meaning they are Covid-19 secure and are adhering to government and public health guidance and advice.
The Great Days Out, Close to Home campaign is also backing the national Know Before You Go initiative, which is asking people to pre-book before visiting hospitality establishments and tourist attractions. The Know Before You Go initiative also informs people of the best time to visit, so premises can ensure that social distancing guidelines are maintained.
Councillor Tony Ball, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “As part of the Great Days Out, Close to Home campaign we are encouraging people to visit the many hospitality businesses, retail outlets and visitor attractions throughout the county and create some magic memories.
“While most of the county has moved into High local alert level restrictions, businesses and attractions have worked hard to meet the requirements needed to display the We’re Good to Go marque, which inspires confidence and demonstrates that the venues have safety measures in place.
“While it is paramount that people adhere to government social distancing guidelines; we would urge everyone to support the wonderful local businesses - be they cafés, restaurants or pubs, independent shops or major attractions - as they are extremely important to our local communities, our economy and the county as a whole.”
Lisa Bone, Visit Essex Strategic Tourism Manager, commented: “In a bid to help the tourist industry - which prior to the Covid-19 pandemic was worth £3.5 billion to the Essex economy - and the county’s businesses, we want to see people explore, experience and enjoy everything that the county has to offer this autumn and winter.
“This time of year is perfect, not only for getting out and about in nature and exploring the beautiful gardens and parks we have throughout Essex, but also for supporting our businesses and retailers in the run up to Christmas by shopping and dining locally.”
-Ends-
Editors Notes:
Visit Essex is the official tourism organisation and the only body specifically marketing the whole of the county to the visitor market. Visit Essex works with visitor attractions, leisure and/or activity providers, accommodation establishments and other tourism related businesses (including the travel trade, media and wider partners), to ensure that the county remains a leading visitor destination. For more information please visit: http://www.visitessex.com/
* At the time of writing, High Local Covid alert level restrictions do not apply to the unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Thurrock Council. These authorities are currently within the Medium alert level.
Spokesperson for the campaign:
Councillor Tony Ball, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development
Councillor Tony Ball, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development
