Hotels across Gloucestershire are feeling the hit of coronavirus with room cancellations and future bookings also down amid a wave of uncertainty produced by the pandemic.

It follows a decent week for some county hotels who were breathing a sigh of relief that the Cheltenham Festival went ahead as planned.

Steve Collins, sales director of The Hatton Collection and Chair, GFirst Visitor Economy and Tourism Business Group, said: "We are getting lots of cancellations for groups rather than for individual guests. It's changing every hour at the moment."

He said group cancellations were also coming from abroad and added: "We view the Easter holidays as the start of the season but we've changed that and it's being delayed till June.

"I'm on a campaign to save tourism. I think people are getting a bit carried away. I'm trying to dampen down the hysteria." 

Bookings during Cheltenham Race week were in line with budget, which was an increase overall on 2019, he added.

Elsewhere in Gloucestershire, at Ellenborough Park near Cheltenham, a spokesperson said: "We are affected and have had some cancellations but we are open and it's business as usual."

However, a spokesperson for the Snooty Fox at Tetbury said: "It hasn't really had much of an effect. We've had a couple of people worrying about it.

But she added: "We haven't had as many future booking come through. We will have to see what happens."