Blow to campsite holidays as they're told they WON'T be able to open on July 4

CAMPERS will have to wait a bit longer for a UK staycation, as campsites are expected to be told that they cannot open from July 4.

For the first time since March, those in need of a holiday will be allowed to leave their homes and stay overnight as the hospitality industry prepares to kick back into action next month.

Hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets are expected to reopen from July 4 and people will be allowed to travel to their second homes to stay overnight.

But campsites will have to wait longer before they are allowed to reopen because of the risk of shared washing facilities.

The announcement is part of Boris Johnson's plan to unlock lockdown Britain and officials are still ironing out the details.

Cabinet will meet today to rubber-stamp the plan, with Mr Johnson then making a formal announcement in the Commons at lunchtime.

New guidelines are said to be sent to tourism industry chiefs by the end of next week.

Campsites, holiday parks and hotels have closed across the country, with 80 per cent of the hospitality industry currently furloughed.

Cornwall Council said the estimated loss to the tourism sector in the county will be £630 million to the end of June.

Malcolm Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall, said if tourism and hospitality businesses could re-open safely, they should.

“There are tens of thousands of jobs at risk here, as well as the supply chain,” he said.

“When it is one of the bedrocks of your economy you do need to get it going to help the rest of the economy.”

He said that hotels, campsites and holiday parks would most likely re-open with reduced capacity.

“Our message to people is plan and book for a safe and great holiday,” he said.

While campsites may be off the cards, caravan parks hope to be able to open from next month as they are "naturally social distanced".

Many trailers are not only 5-6m apart, but they also have their own self-contained facilities, meaning less risk of contamination than campsites which have to use communal showers and toilet blocks.

For our touring pitches for caravans and tents it is vital we know what we are expected to do to open communal facilities

Some caravan parks and campsites are letting wild patches of tall grass grow between pitches to make sure holidaymakers stay 2m apart. 

The new ‘wildlife corridors’ are one of many new features being introduced to holiday parks to follow new social distancing and hygiene guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic. 

It is hoped that caravan parks will be included in the opening dates of July 4, with England sites still given no confirmed date.

Wales and Scotland caravan parks will be opening from July 6 and July 15, respectively.

Gerard Tempest, from the UK’s largest holiday park provider Haven, says they are putting measures in place but still have no idea if they will comply with government guidelines.

He said: "For our touring pitches for caravans and tents it is vital we know what we are expected to do to open communal facilities – in normal times they are open 24 hours.

“But right now we are working on plans to have them manned from 7am to 7pm, with staff cleaning each shower cubicle and toilet between each use with anti-viral cleaning products.

“After that, we will still keep the facilities open but have sanitising wipes available for guests to clean the facilities themselves.”

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