11.02.05
Objective One Boosts Confidence

The growing feeling of confidence in Cornwall's future is encouraging private investment in the region's tourism industry. Several Cornish families that have had a longstanding involvement in tourism have been making significant investments, partly because of two major gains since the Objective One programme began:

• Standards in accommodation and other visitor attractions have been raised.

• Cornwall is now easier to get to thanks to improvements to the transport infrastructure, including rail and air.

While all these families have not received Objective One investment themselves they have detected the increasing mood of optimism in the region.

The Ashworths are one such family, who have been in the hotel trade for more than 100 years. Toby Ashworth runs the Nare Hotel, on the Roseland Peninsula, one of Cornwall's first to attain four star standard, and Henry runs the Extreme Academy, at Watergate Bay, which offers courses in surfing, wave skiing, kite surfing, mountain boarding and traction kiting.

Third brother Will runs the Watergate Bay Hotel, which overlooks the Academy and its Beach Hut bistro. The hotel has just reopened after undergoing a multi million pound transformation, with the help of Objective One via the HONEY (Hotels of Newquay Enhance Yourselves) project.

The refurbishment includes a new restaurant, bar and accommodation and a brand new stainless steel equipped kitchen. The hotel and the Extreme Academy has also received investment via the Objective One gateway fund Taste of the West to develop marketing and the website.

He explained: "Extreme Academy and the hotel are coming together as one business and as one business we are beginning to see some considerable benefits from Cornwall's growth, of which a large proportion can be associated with Objective One.

"For instance we are now open all year and employ about 50 or 60 year-round employees, as opposed to about 15 or 20 a couple of years ago.

"We would be developing anyway but this is helping us develop a lot faster than we would otherwise have done. It is allowing us to think bigger and look beyond our traditional markets."

On the self catering front Simon Tregoning runs the highly successful, Helston-based Classic Cottages.

The business was founded in 1977 by Tony and Clare Tregoning with a scattering of cottages around the Porthleven area. The company has since grown to the point where it now markets over 550 properties.

Simon Tregoning, the founders' son and Classic Cottages managing director, said that more than £100,000 had recently been invested in a total renewal of all computer hardware and a rewrite of all the software.

"The company is all about marketing and administration," said Mr Tregoning. "We are totally dependent on the computer and now, about 35 per cent of our bookings and well over 80 per cent of our new business comes from the web."

Mr Tregoning said that the company had taken the plunge with the investment because of the confidence in long-term growth for Cornwall's tourism market. While Classic Cottages has not used Objective One investment, Mr Tregoning has seen the effect it has had elsewhere.

"I am a firm believer that you should stand on your own two feet if you can," he continued. "I do think there has been a quantum leap in the last few years in terms of the quality of food, attractions and accommodation. Everything has come together at the right time."

The Barlow family own the Treglos Hotel, at Constantine Bay, near Padstow, and the award-winning Budock Vean Hotel, at Mawnan Smith, and have also recently invested heavily in their businesses.

Jim Barlow, managing director of the 42-bedroomed Treglos Hotel said the company had invested a large amount of money into upgrading the 42-bedroomed Treglos Hotel to match the Budock Vean in its four star rating and had now purchased a golf course at Mawgan Porth.

"That is a totally new area for us because we have not marketed golf holidays before," he said. "Objective One is helping in terms of attracting people down here and putting Cornwall on the map."

For further information please contact the Objective One Communications Team, Tel: 01872 223439 or email: cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

For interviews please contact Will Ashworth, Watergate Bay Managing Director: 01637 860543.

Editor's notes:

Cornwall Taste of the West: Is a £3 million Objective One umbrella project, funded by the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund (EAGGF), the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and private matched funding. It is part of the Taste of the West regional food group. Cornwall Taste of the West's four year project includes a trade development programme and a marketing grant scheme, available to small and medium sized food businesses that produce, sell or process foods in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

HONEY (Hotels of Newquay Enhance Yourself): is a £3.7 million project, of which £1.3 million comes from the Objective One ERDF. The three-year business improvement programme offers grants of up to £30,000 to upgrade hotel facilities. The project is run by private company Newquay for Excellence Training Ltd and Restormel Borough Council, and is being supported with a £1.3 million investment from Objective One. Hotels that sign up to Honey are offered one-to-one mentoring to improve all aspects of their business and the customer experience, focusing on five key themes: marketing, guest service, support services, pricing strategy and physical environment.

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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