Getting lighter – a positive move for domestic tourism

The government’s new tourism strategy is expected to suggest that clocks move forward by two rather than one extra hour in the summer months. It would see British Summer Time (BST) maintained during the winter months and “double summertime” applied during summer months, putting the UK one hour ahead of GMT during winter and two hours ahead during summer.

The arguments are that it would save £200m a year for the NHS because of fewer accidents, boost British tourism revenue by £3.5bn and reduce carbon dioxide emissions through people leaving lights and heating off, it is claimed.

Plans to change UK time to improve tourism have been floated in the past but have prompted objections in Scotland, where there are less daylight hours in winter meaning schoolchildren would be going to school in the dark if this proposal is implemented.

As domestic tourism is one of our focus areas, I spoke to a couple of our clients to hear their views. Dan Yates at Pitchup.com, a portal for camping and caravanning sites, believes extra daylight hours are a good thing, allowing people to enjoy the countryside for longer during the day. But his other view was that it will reduce artificial light pollution and thus remove one of the obstacles frequently cited against rural tourism development.

“Too many owners are prevented from upgrading their camping and caravanning parks because of concerns over light pollution. If it does not get dark until 10 pm in the evening it reduces that argument. Customers to parks in areas such as the South West already benefit from up to an hour of extra evening light – arguably the most relaxing time of day.”

At Mazzard Farm Cottages, Ruud Jansen Venneboerat believes this issue should have been dealt with years ago. “An extra hour of light will mean higher temperatures later in the day allowing for more outdoor time. Like our friends on the continent we will actually be able to enjoy more al fresco evenings (saving energy in the process). But from a tourism point of view this will make Britain an even more attractive place to holiday, especially for people camping (children will not wake up at 4 am!) who can stay outside at night for longer”.

I looked at the letters pages in the nationals and most people seemed positive about the move, saying that it would improve British quality of life. Where Scotland was referenced as a reason not to change, it was suggested that Scotland has its own time zone or that they change the school hours to accommodate the change – sensible and positive thinking!! But there was one letter that made me smile and it was from a septuagenarian in Cambridgeshire who is a ‘ghost’ guide on the River Cam. She said that a ghost tour has to be spookily dark so the tours need to start late when the light is going. If the evenings are lighter she would need to start even later which at her age was not a good thing!