Worrying times for Eastbourne tourism as we leave the EU

Many congratulations to Margaret Bannister and her team on getting the new Tourist Information Centre up and running for the town.

Probably enough has been said about its actual location, so no further comment is needed here.

However, will it ever get used to its full potential by our friends, the holidaymakers from the EU, is the main question one has to ask? The major concern for any seaside town, or any area that relies heavily on tourism for that matter, is how are we going to get friends from the EU to visit Eastbourne once the transition period is over in just four months’ time? Ms Bannister is the lead for Tourism and Enterprise, so is she working on this very important issue?

Because of the dithering and uncertainty by government regarding right of entry into the UK from the EU, nobody yet knows what the legal conditions of entry holidaymakers will have.

I have, on a number of occasions, put the question to our local Member of Parliament but she, unfortunately, doesn’t have an answer. As a result, will tourists from the EU stop coming to Eastbourne altogether, because of the worry they will be denied entry at our borders? Or if they are allowed entry will they need a travel permit of some kind or, in the worst-case scenario will they require visas to get here for their holidays.

With only a few months to go this is all very worrying for anybody involved in tourism in Eastbourne. Time is now starting to run out and people in the industry are becoming very scared due to the lack of clarity and guidance we are getting from our politicians.

To a greater degree who would want to invest in Eastbourne should we lose our visitors from the EU? That being the case then the new TIC would very quickly become a white elephant, that’s for sure.