Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Grockles & Emmets
A century ago it was farming and fishing, but tourism is now by far and away the region's
top-grossing industry. Recent figures indicate that tourism adds more than £9 billion to the
region's coffers, and it's estimated that around one in five jobs now depend on the tourism
industry in some form or other. The region's residents have a mixed relationship with the
summer influx of grockles and emmets (as the locals either side of the Devon-Cornwall
border refer to them): traffic jams, litter and overcrowded beaches are inevitable prob-
lems, but many towns and villages would now find it all but impossible to survive without
the vital cash injection visitors bring.
The downside of this tourism boom is its unpredictability: Britain's recent economic
troubles and spells of poor weather have badly impacted the region's tourist businesses,
forcing many operators to the financial edge. Meanwhile, the increasing accessibility and
affordability of foreign holidays has made it hard for Devon and Cornwall to attract new
visitors, especially those from the younger demographic. Even high profile businesses
such as the Eden Project aren't immune; the attraction was recently forced to lay off staff
due to falling visitor numbers.
A Foodie Future?
It isn't all doom and gloom, however. One of the region's great success stories over the
last decade has been its increasing focus on food. Several Michelin-starred restaurants are
now dotted across the two counties, but it's the numerous homegrown businesses that
have sprung up in recent years that are arguably more important for the future.
From coffee roasters and food-box companies to bakeries, vineyards and microbrewer-
ies, Devon and Cornwall are leading the way when it comes to Britain's culinary innova-
tion. In a world where food miles and carbon footprints are on everyone's minds, these
homegrown businesses all provide positive signs of Cornwall and Devon's growing repu-
tation as a foodie destination - a fact that was underlined by the recent decision to grant
'geo-protected' status to the region's greatest gastronomic export, the Cornish pasty.
The local focus isn't just limited to food, either. Many towns across the southwest are
exploring ways to take control of their own futures: take Wadebridge, for example, which
is planning to be the southwest's greenest town by generating a third of its electricity from
renewable sources by 2015, and has recently followed Totnes' lead by launching its own
currency in an attempt to encourage people to shop more locally.
