Cornwall’s picturesque seaside towns are at risk of losing their charm as tourists turn their backs on staycations, opting for more budget-friendly holidays abroad, leading to a potential crisis for holiday home owners in the region.
The travel industry is feeling the pinch, with warnings from travel companies about the “detrimental” effects of this shift in tourist behaviour, as skyrocketing utility costs and council tax hikes make running UK-based holiday lets increasingly untenable.
Zak Ali, Commercial Leader for Together Travel, has voiced concerns to Express.co.uk about the dire situation, highlighting that travel agents are staring down the barrel of mass redundancies due to a shortage of available properties to meet booking demands.
“Agents are losing properties as a direct result of not being able to deliver on bookings because of the uncertainty on the market,” he explained.
A significant hit for property owners is on the horizon with the abolition of the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) scheme next year. FHLs, which offered short-term holiday rentals tax relief, will no longer enjoy these benefits from April 6, 2025, resulting in increased costs for owners, reports the Express.
Mr Ali further said: “The FHL changes that are coming into place soon are also causing a lot of panic and issues to homeowners who are selling up.”
From next year, profits and gains from FHLs will be integrated into the owner’s property business accounts, subjecting them to the same tax treatment as other property income and gains.
Moreover, from April 2025, Cornish second homes will be slapped with a 100 percent hike in council tax bills, adding to the financial strain on property owners.
Mr Ali highlights the current predicament in the property sector, noting that “retaining staff is a real challenge” due to the scarcity of available properties for employees to manage.
He said: “I know for a fact larger agencies who have a lot of staff have been making redundancies because of lower expected income and the dwindling numbers of properties.”
Truro saw the biggest increase in homes for sale in September than any other region in the country, according to the latest house price index by property website Zoopla.
There were 47 percent more properties on the market last month in Truro and surrounding areas than it had on average for the previous six Septembers.
Cornwall, a beloved holiday haven within the UK, could be facing a shift as more holidaymakers opt for overseas package deals which come cheaper than local holiday lets a potential knock to Cornwall’s mainstay industry.
Mr Ali said: “We’ve seen it in the summer we’ve just had already, the destination has not been as strong as it has been historically.”
“The tourism industry will see a negative impact. I think it will be detrimental to the overall income generated on the back of tourism.”
Cornwall’s tourism industry is worth £2bn annually, or 15 percent of the local economy, with the region receiving four million overnight visits a year, according to Cornwall Council.