A FAMILY’S hideaway caravan park in rural Lancashire has become the standard bearer for a major regional awareness campaign during English Tourism Week (25-31 May).
Moss Wood Caravan Park near Lancaster is featured by Marketing Lancashire in its “See You Soon, Safely” initiative aimed at visitors across the UK.
The campaign launch is accompanied by a photo when the park will re-open.
Henry Wild, a member of the 40-year-old family-run Cockerham business, says that he is keen to deliver two key messages in association with Marketing Lancashire:
“Firstly, we are signalling our hope that Moss Wood will soon be allowed to re-open soon, even if this is in a phased way with holiday caravan owners being the first back.
“Parks such as ours are ideal for social distancing as pitches are five or six metres apart, and holiday caravans are entirely self-contained with their own bathrooms and kitchens.
“Hazards such as air conditioning aren’t present – but what you do have is bountiful supplies of clean country air and space in which to exercise and relax in safety.
“Obviously we can only re-open when the government considers it safe to do so, but our other message is that there is a lot riding on that decision being taken soon.
“We are having to maintain the park whilst our income has plummeted, and clearly this is not a sustainable situation.
“But there is also a serious spin-off for many other businesses in the area around here, many of them smaller family-owned enterprises like ours.
“Shops, pubs, cafes and attractions have all been cut off from the lifeline of tourism spending on which they depend, threatening both their survival and the jobs they sustain,” added Henry.
In Lancashire, he points out, more than 61,000 people are employed in tors boosts the region’s economy by £4.4 billion.
“After the lockdown is over, people will be craving the chance of a holiday – especially in the open countryside where they can re-connect with nature in beautiful surroundings.
“That’s precisely what rural Lancashire can provide in abundance, so we are saying: come back when it’s safe, and get life back on an even keel in the best way possible!” said Henry.
A regular winner of nature and conservation awards for its many wildlife projects, there is more information about Moss Wood at www.mosswood.co.uk