Nicola: Keep the heid
FM pleads with revellers to be careful as pubs open up again
LIFE is set to finally open up for many Scots today as the country’s hospitality and tourism sectors get back to business.
After almost four months of enforced closure, hotels and other tourism firms are allowed to begin trading again.
Pubs, restaurants and cafes can now welcome customers inside, while hairdressers, churches and libraries are also set to reopen their doors as the country edges back towards normality.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged caution, asking Scots to ‘keep the heid’ and stick ‘rigidly’ to the lockdown rules that still apply.
She urged people to ‘think much, much more carefully’ as drinkers could find their ‘inhibitions lowered’, and act ‘in a way [they] wouldn’t otherwise do’, such as ‘getting closer to people’.
She added: ‘None of us enjoy this. We have got a deadly virus stalking us.
‘I don’t want to be the big wet blanket on people’s summer enjoyment but I equally – much, much more the case – I don’t want to be standing here in a month’s time reading out horrific figures again.
‘It’s in everyone’s interest that we just keep the heid.’
Customers must provide their contact details when going to pubs, hairdressers and places of worship to allow for tracking and tracing measures if needed.
Bookings are said to be flooding in for bed and breakfasts, pubs and restaurants at popular beauty spots such as Loch
Lomond after businesses saw their finances devastated by enforced closures.
In April, a survey found companies in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park could lose out on £200million of income due to restrictions.
Breakfast in bed, removing room magazines and regular deep cleaning are among the measures being introduced at guest houses to comply with guidance.
Gordon and Elaine Strang, who run The Clachan in Drymen’s village square, say they are confident that the industry will recover.
Mr Strang told The Lennox Herald: ‘The majority of establishments offer a great experience and we will see tourists from England and further when the flights start coming in.’
The owner of Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh, James Thomson, said staff were looking forward to welcoming guests.
Temperature checks for staff and guests, hand sanitiser stations, online check-in, personal menus, automatic doors, face shields and electrostatic fogging machines are among the measures in place to protect against coronavirus.
Mr Thomson said: ‘At five-star level we’ve been doing social distancing for a while because we’ve plenty of room but we’ve actually reduced the number of tables in the restaurant as well.’
Also coming into effect today is Rishi Sunak’s cut in VAT from 20 per cent to just 5 per cent for the hospitality and tourism sector in a bid to protect jobs. The change was announced last week.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer said he would combine it with a 50 per cent discount on eating out in restaurants and cafes in August subsidised by the Treasury.
Hootenanny in Glasgow’s Howard Street is among the pubs fully reopening in Scotland today.
Manager David Lopez said changes include cutting the number of tables inside from more than 20 to around six to comply with social distancing measures.
There will be table service only and enhanced hygiene measures are also in place. He said: ‘It will be as normal as we can get it but still not back to the way it was.
‘There will be no live music and there won’t be a crowd in for the football matches.’
The licensed trade sector has urged customers to help the industry get cash flowing. Colin WilkinBar, son, managing director of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: ‘The industry will be complying with guidance, but it’s come very late and we’re flying by the seat of our pants.’
Some premises will not be reopening. Among them is Captains
in Edinburgh, which is known for daily live music performances in a snug environment.
Landlady Pamela Macgregor said she was staying closed for financial and safety reasons. She has asked Edinburgh City Council for permission to use parking spaces in front of her venue to make some outdoor seating available.
However, hair salons are delighted to be reopening. Karen Thomson, a hairdresser in Lossiemouth, Moray, said her clients were ‘absolutely buzzing’ about the return.
She told the BBC: ‘We’ve had them screaming down the phone; one of them burst out crying, we’ve had so many reactions. We’ve got a massive waiting list, about 1,200 people on there. It’ll be fun and games getting through them all.’
Over 200 unstaffed historic sites across Scotland where physical distancing can be readily maintained will be also be open today. They include the grounds of Doune Castle, near Stirling, and Dundonald Castle, in Ayrshire.
Tourism Secretary Fergus Ewing said tourists should ‘respect those living in the area you are visiting’.
Locals in beauty spots around the country have reported an increase in littering and visitors urinating in public.
Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw has urged consumers to support local businesses and called on the Scottish Government to launch a marketing campaign to encourage local shopping.
He said: ‘It’s vitally important that this sector recovers and that people have the confidence to go out and support it.’
‘Reduced the number of tables’ ‘Flying by the seat of our pants’