God Bless the People of England
Last week the Tourism Society held its annual conference in a typical tourist venue, York.
There was feeling that tourism was not hit as widely as some industries had been but the quote of the day went to Sir Thomas Ingilby whose family have lived at Ripley Castle in Yorkshire for over 700 years.
“God bless the people of England,” he said “because they can do without a lot but they can’t do without a nice cup of tea.”
He was referring to the fact that sales in the gift shops in many places might be down but after a tour of a historic house, a garden or some other attraction, people were still prepared to buy a cup of tea. This attitude was helping a number of attractions do well. In fact some stately homes were reporting that visits were up by 30-35%. His thought was that compared to a visit to a theme park, a visit to a stately home for a family of four was cheaper and of better value so we are visiting them rather than pricier days out.
He did say one other thing that did dismay me though. Cheap items were not selling now; people were buying quality or practical items. Where am I going to get my badly-made, tatty, dreadful fridge magnets in the future?
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