A DRAMATIC fall in the number of foreign visitors coming to St Ives should be seen as a wake-up call for the town, the mayor has warned.
St Ives has seen a 40 per cent drop in the number of overseas tourists visiting the town while the number increased in Penzance by more than two thirds, according to figures revealed by the tourism agency VisitBritain.
The numbers showed that in 2012 visits to St Ives were down by more than a third year on year, from 52,000 the year before to 31,000.
The statistics show that the north coast town has taken a particular hit in the number of German tourists staying in the area.
Town mayor Colin Nicholls said residents, business-owners and councillors should see the figures, which he described as "quite alarming", as a warning.
The new mayor, who owns hardware store Colenso and Co in the town, said: "Foreign tourists are very discerning so therefore you have to get your product right.
"I have been saying this as a businessman and I am saying it as the mayor; you have to get your product offering right and I think it is a challenge for all of us in St Ives to work together to entice the right number of foreign tourists to our town."
Mr Nicholls said that some of the key things the town needed to get right were parking, toilets, accommodation levels and the quality of service in the shops.
He said the area could not afford to have toilets closed and added: "What we have noticed is that in the past three months there have been visitors – there always are – but probably the volume has not been as much."
The slump in St Ives is in contrast to a significant increase in Penzance, where visits made by overseas tourists increased by 68 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011.
The town has become increasingly popular with German visitors, who accounted for 26,000 of the 42,000 foreign tourists last year – up 271 per cent year on year.
The entire county has seen a rise in the number of German tourists choosing to holiday here. This is partly down to the popularity of author Rosamunde Pilcher, whose romance novels set in Devon and Cornwall have been adapted for German TV since the 1980s.
Penzance councillor Dick Cliffe, who is also the chairman of the town's chamber of commerce, said the news was positive for businesses in the area and matched what he and his wife had seen at their B&B, the Elmsdale Guesthouse.
He said: "We certainly felt last year was strong for foreign visitors, and it's certainly strong this year."
He added that Penzance benefited from being the gateway to Penwith.
He said: "Last year the German presence was strong but we're also quite popular with Italians, and we see a whole raft of nationalities visiting."