Hospitality businesses now intent on getting back to ‘the starting line’

As Scotland currently remains fairly closed off to foreign tourists this summer – without them spending a period in isolation, that is – the tourism body is ramping up its efforts to encourage UK visitors and locals alike to explore the north-east corner.

Having worked in the tourism industry for 25 years, Chris Foy has never seen anything impact the sector in the same way as Covid-19.

He said while he welcomed the reopening of the hospitality sector earlier this month, it was likely to be some time before the full impact of the pandemic is apparent.

He said: “The reopening of the hospitality sector is just getting us back to the starting line really – where we would have liked to have been in March when the tourism season would have been about to start at around Easter.

“It is good news that we are back at the starting line and we’re looking at hopefully having an extended season. However, how the industry is going to weather the storm and the impact that Covid has had on the hospitality sector won’t be seen for quite some time.”

He said there had already been “positive signs” to come from businesses which had started to take bookings for later this summer and into next year.

He added: “We have had a very positive start – you just need to look at the interest generated by the Chester’s outdoor area – but we need to hope this is sustained and not just an initial surge.

“A lot of the work we will be doing in the coming months will be to encourage locals to get out and discover Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire – and spend money and keep it going over the rest of the summer. If people are less inclined to travel overseas it’s a great opportunity to discover the local area over the next few months.”

The Chester hotel in Aberdeen has seen a great deal of interest in its outdoor seating area