EASTER weekend brought the welcome return of large numbers of visitors to Tavistock.
Kelvin Stagg, Tavistock's tourist information officer, said: 'Dartmoor was pretty quiet over the weekend, but Tavistock itself was very crowded — 300 people a day came through the Tavistock Tourist Information Centre, that's more than we were expecting, but slightly less than a normal Easter, when we'd expect 350 to 400 people.'
Mr Stagg said Tavistock seemed to have become a tourist centre with many activities and attractions open all around, such as Morwellham Quay, the Garden House and the Yelverton Paperweight Centre.
'Most of the bed and breakfasts had people in — I wouldn't say they were full, but there was a slight recovery, though nowhere near as many as we would normally have.'
But even the huge media campaign to entice tourists back to the countryside has failed to shift the misapprehensions of many over whether Dartmoor is open or not.
Mr Stagg said the success of the region still depended on the moor, and although attractions such as Becky Falls, Castle Drogo and the Miniature Pony Centre had re-opened, things would not get back to normal until Dartmoor was completely open for walkers and riders.
'It's the walks people want — that's what they come here for, but all that is out of bounds until further notice,' he said. 'However, the tourists that have come have been very respectful and will be happy to come back again.'
For James Langton, landlord at the Plume of Feathers in Princetown, the weekend had been dismal.
'From a camp-site point of view it has been disastrous — only eight tents when normally there should be as many as 300 and in the bunkhouses you can count the number of people on the fingers of two hands instead of the 40 people a night we'd normally have. In the bed and breakfast we got a couple of people, but we were very disappointed.'
Mr Langton's biggest concern was that even with the massive publicity some people — even local people — still thought Dartmoor was completely out of bounds and others thought the Plume of Feathers had been closed for weeks.
'I don't know what else you can do,' he said.
Peter Kenwright, director of historic Morwellham Quay near Tavistock, was upbeat about visitor figures.
He said: 'We had an excellent Easter — our numbers are better than last year.'
He said the quay had been advertising extensively and concentrating on remaining positive, which appeared to have paid off.
'We are constantly watching as the situation develops as no-one really knows what is going to happen. We are not being complacent, but we are determined that everyone who comes through the gates gets a very warm welcome,' he said.
And the Garden House near Buckland Monachorum also reported plenty of trade.
Liz Middlebrook said: 'Just looking at the plant sales figures for the Bank Holiday Monday we were almost twice as much as last year. It was a very good day for us.'
She put the upturn in trade from a 'poor March' down to extra advertising and reasonably good weather over the weekend.
'The gardens are looking lovely and it's nice to see people in them enjoying themselves.'
But Julie Searle, of Lydford House Hotel, said she had just two rooms full this Easter, compared with three-quarter full last year. She has had no enquiries for future bookings.
'In the summer holidays everyone that stays here without exception has a rider in the family. Some people come before the summer to walk on the moor and Lydford Gorge, which are closed.
'There's nothing I can do to attract my regular visitors,' said Mrs Searle, who said she was grateful for the support of local people who had eaten at the hotel during Easter.
Brett Johnson, curator at Dartmoor Prison Museum, said trade over the weekend was approximately 70 per cent down on last year.
'It's been pretty gruesome really — we just sit and wait,' he said.
He said the museum was open as normal — he has put extra signs outside and 50,000 advertising leaflets are being distributed county-wide shortly.