Scottish tourism chief demands reopening date to halt ‘collapse’
Scottish tourism leaders have demanded a “reopening date” for the ailing industry amid claims it is on the brink of collapse with more than 2,500 businesses at risk of imminent closure.
The Scottish Tourism Alliance, the main voice of the sector, has called for the Scottish Government to allow businesses to reopen “within the coming weeks”.
Hotels and operators are said to be losing business south of the border in the wake of the easing of restrictions in England to help reboot the economy - despite concerns that many parts of the country were unprepared for a sudden influx of visitors.
It claims a “stark number” of firms which are being turned down for hardship grants and other financial support, saying they “will not survive more than a few weeks.”
Tourism is said to account for 218,000 jobs – the equivalent of 8 per cent of employment across Scotland. More than 15 million overnight stays are normally recorded across the country each year, 12 million of them from UK residents.
STA chief executive Marc Crothall said: “With the easing of lockdown restrictions in England, tourism is starting to revive with reports of bookings for destinations like Cornwallontheincrease.scotland’s tourism industry needs a date now for reopening to allow the necessary period of planning for safe reopening and to offer confidence to all who live here and wish to travel here that it will open for business within the coming weeks.
“There are over 2,500 tourism businesses who are still receiving no grant support whatsoever. These medium to larger businesses are the lifeblood of our tourism industry, major employers – without them, we simply have no tourism industry and these businesses are at risk of collapse.
“A stark number of tourism businesses are being turned down for hardship and other grants. These businesses will not survive more than a few weeks. The furlough scheme was there to protect jobs for the future. If there is no business, there are no jobs.”
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “We are carefully considering how we plan the restart and long-term recovery of the sector and wider economy.
“The Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group, chaired by Visitscotland, has been in place since the beginning of the crisis and has developed a plan to respond to the impact of the virus on the sector and that work will help inform how we move forward as we slowly and carefully emerge from this crisis.”