JON MATTHEWS

Building back greener

Jon Matthews, who chairs the Penzance & District Tourism Association, explains the importance of sustainability.

It’s so important that sustainability sits alongside the operating of the businesses

The past year 18 months or so have been a huge challenge for the tourism industry. As a guest house owner and chair of the local tourism association, Jon Matthews, has had to battle through the pandemic and lockdowns and it hasn’t been easy. “I think at the start, because nobody knew what was happening, that’s when people probably had the most concern,” recalls Jon. “Having coming through the seasonal winter period when not having any income, having invested heavily over the winter on room renovations and all that stuff. “And then to get to a point when you’re having to give all the deposits back, that was incredibly tough. But once we got over that period, I think people reinvented themselves a little bit and put a great deal of fantastic measures in place to protect everybody. Income was reduced, but people still took rooms out. And I don’t think people compromised on their environmental credentials. That is so exciting for Cornwall and the south west to be able to really focus on sustainability.” Sustainability has become a growing issue in tourism in recent times and it is a subject that Jon feels passionately about, as do many businesses in Penzance, with the town proudly becoming the first plastic-free community in the UK back in 2017. He believes sustainability is a win-win for the holiday provider and the customer and is an issue he has driven forward both in his capacity as guest house owner and chair of the Penzance Tourism Association. He says it is something that guests have now come to expect and is all part of the customer experience. Gone are the days of trays full of small plastic cartons etc. Now local provenance comes into the equation. “Local milk, jam made on the Lizard and locally-grown tomatoes. Last year we were using tomatoes grown for us by my mum. The food mileage was 300 yards! All of that really matters to the majority of the guests.” He says that kind of personal touch can help stand guest houses and B&Bs out from the crowd. “It’s so important that sustainability sits alongside the operating of the businesses,” says Jon. “Guests expect it and I really think there’s no going back. “I stayed in this place last year that had all this plastic in the room, and it just felt so corporate. It’s not what the experience is about now, not what people want. They want the personal touch, that end-to-end experience. And drinking milk from the milk bottle is just fantastic. Even if you decanted it from Lidls, it would taste better!” Jon pays tribute to the help and advice he and the Penzance Tourism Association received from Malcolm Bell and Visit Cornwall during the pandemic. He says the guest houses and B&Bs are a vital part of the local economy. “Accommodation sits right in the middle of the community,” he says. “It is important for the vibrancy of the restaurants and the cafes in the town because although more people come to a place like Penzance during the day, in

the evening, it’s those who are staying, who will be using the restaurants and the pubs.” And while local businesses have managed their way through the pandemic, the #1 issue not just facing Jon’s members at the Penzance Tourism Association, but all hospitality businesses right now, is the difficulty in recruiting staff. Covid, Brexit, furlough, he believes it’s a combination of things causing the current difficulties. “I would say it’s down to a mixture of everything. Because you’ve got fewer people from Europe working without a shadow of a doubt. Many have just gone home. “And there is difficulty on people coming down from up country and finding accommodation at the moment so that they can work in hotels. It’s all making it really hard. “I’ve never came across a restaurant or a cafe before who would close for an evening because they just can’t risk burning their existing staff out and the whole business collapsing at what is a peak time. It’s crazy.” He suggests another reason could be that a traditional source of recruits – students – just don’t need the holiday work right now. In the past year, many haven’t been able to attend university so have stayed at home and not spent any money. “Many must be thinking, do I want to work my socks off when I’ve got a few thousand pounds in the bank account? Or do I want to actually enjoy the summer? And I think this is a big issue, because when we come to the end of the summer, there won’t be the jobs but there will be the people wanting to work. “This is probably the biggest issue we’ve got at the moment. If you look at the high street, in the cafes and the restaurants, everybody’s advertising for staff.” As a tourism base, Penzance has much going for it - the geothermal Jubilee Pool, of which Jon is a director, the galleries, it’s a good base for walking holidays. And the recent news that it is to receive £21.5 million through the Government’s Towns Deal also adds to the optimism. “All the towns around Cornwall have their own unique bit about them,” says Jon. “Penzance is not competing with St Ives, it’s not competing with Helston. They’ve all got their own bits and can all work together. “Newlyn and Penzance is a working town. It’s a wonderful base to explore other places but also to explore the town it’s got so much history and so many things to see. And with all the investment set to come in, it’s also got massive potential.” “But also and I think this is a good thing, it’s never going to be possible to push too many people into the town. So there’s not a danger of it being overly populated. It’s important that with the local community, we don’t actually put the community ill at ease.” While Jon has now closed the doors on the Woodstock Guest House, he is not leaving the tourism industry in Penzance, far from it, and will soon reveal plans for his next venture. “It’s great, great fun, I totally love it,” he enthuses. “The members (Penzance Tourism Association) are all friends. It’s like a friendship group and brilliant to work around. “It’s hard work but I would totally recommend it to anyone thinking of looking for another type of job or career.”

If you look at the high street, in the cafes and the restaurants, everybody’s advertising for staff