"The busiest ever," is how a host of Rutland's leading tourism businesses have described the summer season.

It appears that two factors have played into the hands of Rutland's tourism success: its rural character which allows for visitors and residents to get out and enjoy 'The Great Outdoors,' coupled with its reputation as 'The County of Good Taste,' whether that is its award-winning eateries, artisan producers or independent businesses.

Jason Allen, Chair of Discover Rutland and owner of The Fox pub and restaurant in North Luffenham is effusive about how busy things have been over the summer months.

He said: "Our outside dining areas have meant we've been able to serve more customers than usual over the summer and everyone, both tourists and residents, have said how brilliant it is to enjoy eating and drinking out again.

"The general feeling that the staycation trend would boost the economy has proven to be true."

The news is particularly welcome following concerns and apprehension back in April as the county started to emerge from various lockdowns and a year of on-off restrictions imposed by the government.

Jason continued: "Although most hospitality businesses were apprehensive about the summer season back in April, with so many people holidaying at home we've gone from famine to feast in terms of customers, thanks to increasing our outdoor space.

"As a county, it's been fantastic to watch the hospitality get creative in rising to the challenges posed by Covid, customers have been respectful, premises have done their due diligence and we've been operating as near to normal as we can be."

Ben Jones, co-owner of The Olive Branch, agrees.

Despite the challenges of lockdown earlier in the year, the Clipsham-based establishment (a pub and, opposite, a hotel, The Beech House) has won two major gongs this year, including, 'The UK Pub of the Year 2021' awarded by The Good Pub Guide and, 'Best Pub' from the GQ Food and Drinks Awards 2021.

Ben said: "It's been a great summer, with our guests dining both inside the pub and outside in our garden gazebos proving our visitors' appetite for tasty food and drink is at an all-time high."

Overnight stays have also proved a hit, with rooms at The Beech House, the pub's accommodation opposite, fully booked ever since re-opening in May.

It seems that the disappointing weather during the school summer holidays hasn't seem to dampen enthusiasm for outdoor activities, either.

David Hicks, Marketing Manager at Rutland Cycling certainly agrees that footfall at Rutland Water has been buoyant.

David said: "We've continued to see really high demand for bikes and all things cycling, and there certainly seems to be a continuing trend for people to get outside and get fit. The weather this summer hasn't necessarily played into our hands but we're still seeing lots of people heading out on hire bikes at Rutland Water, and particularly a lot of new riders and families who are taking to two wheels."

Another outdoor trend during the 'year of the staycation' has been more people than ever enjoying camping and caravanning, whether that's families or couples wanting an affordable and fun escape.

Jason Allen, who also owns The Paddock campsite in Lyndon said: "Camping and caravanning have been phenomenal, and we've been fully booked all season.

"It's been interesting to note that 2021 has definitely been the year of the motorhome, their popularity has soared, which may see the traditional camping season lengthen as a result."

Against this backdrop of soaring summer success, there are still challenges, significant ones, for Rutland businesses. As well as supply chain issues and driver shortages well documented in the national media, the sector which seems to be bearing the brunt is hospitality.

Jason continued: "The main challenge we have to overcome in the sector is recruitment, a shortfall that's being felt across the country.

"Whilst Rutland has been less impacted than, say, the large London hotels when it comes to losing European staff, chefs and front of house staff have found jobs in other sectors during the pandemic, or decided they prefer a better work / life balance in other careers. It's widely agreed that this will be a major challenge for all hospitality outlets in Rutland and across the UK in the coming months."

At The Olive Branch, Ben Jones has had to alter the working week, despite being busier than ever.

"Like many hospitality businesses we simply haven't been able to recruit sufficient staff to meet the demand. In June we made tough decision to close on Sundays (as well or our normal Monday and Tuesday closure).

"The truth was that the work needed to maintain booming business isn't sustainable, our team were simply working too hard, and we need to give them more time of as well as time to recruit more members to the team.

"We have restructured the teams' working hours and they all now work a flexible 4-day week. We've recruited more chefs and strengthened the team, but we are still looking for more individuals to join us," he concluded.

Having all risen to the challenge of a bumper season, Rutland's tourist businesses are hopeful that the shoulder season will be busier than usual (potential future government restrictions allowing) something which will further help post-peak pandemic bounce back.

Mary Copley, Discover Rutland Tourism Officer said: "National booking trends suggest visitors plan to travel in England throughout autumn and winter at a higher rate than in previous years. It is hoped this will support local businesses who normally see a large variation of visitor numbers between peak and off-peak seasons and assist the covid recovery through winter."

Peak visitor numbers have also been supported by Discover Rutland's marketing efforts, with visitors to the Discover Rutland website significantly up year on year, and social media campaigns such as the 'Where is Rutland?' quiz all helping to boost the county's profile nationally.

Tomorrow, the destination management organisation is also launching its autumn campaign on social media.

For more information on what to see and do, local events and where to go during the coming months, please visit: discover-rutland.co.uk

To view the Autumn campaign video, click here.