Easter and bank holiday period 'always important' for businesses, says Visit Herefordshire co-chair
It's ahead of the upcoming bank holiday weekend later this week
Easter can be key in allowing businesses to kick on and kick their seasons off, the co-chair of Herefordshire tourism organisation has said.
A four-day bank holiday weekend is due to take place later this week, with a study by RAC and INRIX estimating nearly 21m leisure journeys are planned for it.
It's warning Good Friday is set to be the busiest day with around 3.3m expected, with over 2.3m also planned for the day before.
Co-chair of Visit Herefordshire Glenn Jones, who's also the managing director of Discover Parks who have a site in the county, said the start of the better weather can be a 'mood lifter' and this time of year can be pivotal for businesses.
"Easter is always really important for hospitality businesses, it's the first really big weekend of the year, and of course this year it's even more important for a couple of reasons," he said.
"First of all, as we all know, hospitality has been struggling, it's been a very wet winter, it's been a long winter, and it's the chance to sort of really fill the venues, the accommodation, the bars, restaurants, pubs, whatever it might be, and also have some family time for everybody.
"It's been such a long winter and such a difficult time for hospitality, we really want this to kick on and kick our seasons off."
Families across Herefordshire and Worcestershire and the West Midlands who are planning visits to farms or animal attractions are also being reminded to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water after touching animals, fences and other surfaces.
The warning comes from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), who are urging people to do it to avoid picking up harmful infections that can cause serious illnesses.