A new national report says that coastal tourism in the UK will need investment for the next three years to help the industry recover from the coronavirus shutdown.

With almost the entire tourism sector currently closed due to the pandemic there are fears that some businesses will not survive.

A new report from the National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) has recommended that the government provide more support to help the sector, such as that in Cornwall, recover.

The report was presented to a select committee meeting last week where MPs were looking at the impact of Covid-19 on tourism.

In Cornwall there have been warnings that some businesses could be forced to close as a result of the crisis.

Last week Cornwall Council leader Julian German said that there would have to be a phased reopening of tourism businesses according to those which would be able to have social distancing guidelines in place.

But he warned that Cornwall would not be able to accommodate the same number of visitors as it would during a normal summer season.

Read more: Cornwall could limit how many visitors it accepts this summer in phased opening

The NCTA has recommended that the government give businesses “as much notice and guidance as possible on re-opening process and timing”.

It also called for ongoing support through the furlough scheme, grants, rent relief, licensing rebates and VAT.

It also said there was a need for “grants to support costs to install PPE (personal protective equipment) and social distancing measures”.

And it said there was a need for a “safe, fair and legal playing field” stating that companies such as Airbnb were looking to open before July 4.

However it said: “But key for the coast to recover is investment in a three-year (minimum) programme of support until 2023 to build back better and get the economy back to pre-Covid levels.”

This would include a business support programme with investment in consumer research, product development and training.

And it would also need investment in marketing support and strategic leadership on coastal issues including the continued Coastal Communities Fund.

Read next: The Falmouth and Helston businesses reopening after coronavirus closures

The wider report states that while businesses will hope that the government will announce that they can reopen in July “many businesses need to reduce capacity in order to implement social distancing measures”.

With many people expected to be reluctant to travel abroad due to possible restrictions the NCTA questions whether the industry could cope with the possible demand in the UK.

The report states that tourism businesses are aware that “local residents are very concerned about increase in infection rates” and said “businesses are also concerned about spreading the virus”.

There are also concerns about the impact on employment in coastal towns with the report citing the Centre for Towns Report which states that more than 50 per cent of employment in St Ives and Newquay coming directly from tourism.

Samantha Richardson, NCTA director, said: “Assuming retail can reopen from June 1 and hospitality businesses from July 4, we forecast that the economic loss of coastal tourism spend in England for 2020 will be £7.96 billion, and some analysts are predicting a loss of 20 to 25 per cent in accommodation stock.

“Nearly 74 percent of businesses are temporarily closed and when they do open, most expect to operate at between 40 and 60 percent capacity, squeezing profit margins further. The peak months of July and August are crucial to coastal businesses, this is when nearly 30 per cent generate more than half their annual turnover.

“We know that many businesses having survived the winter were in need of Easter bookings and the start of the summer season to recover.”