TOURISTS RUN SCARED
Families are cancelling ‘in their droves’ say industry leaders who fear for future
FAMILIES are cancelling October breaks ‘in their droves’, fearing they will be caught up in new lockdown measures, tourism chiefs have warned.
Hotels, bed and breakfasts and selfcatering accommodation have been told they can continue to welcome guests, with no full hospitality shut-down.
But holidaymakers have been left confused by the guidance issued by Nicola Sturgeon, which advises against non-essential travel.
The First Minister told MSPs on Wednesday that this did not mean those who had booked holidays during the school break had to cancel.
However, Stephen Leckie, who runs the Crieff Hydro Hotel in Perthshire, said the move had sparked a surge in cancellations, with widespread confusion for travellers and business owners.
His hotel had 50 cancellations within an hour of Miss Sturgeon’s statement on Wednesday.
Mr Leckie, who is also chairman of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said: ‘This industry is in tatters, it’s in trouble and now there’s turmoil.
‘We have questions to ask, many customers are asking questions and are cancelling in their droves.’
The Moor of Rannoch Restaurant and Rooms i n Pitlochry, Perthshire, said it had been forced to close in a bid to ‘break even’.
In a statement, it said: ‘A number of guests have already cancelled their bookings over this period, meaning that we are potentially looking at trading at an occupancy level which will not break even.
‘We are in a position where we feel we are not able to offer our guests the experience which they have booked and paid for.’
Announcing the latest Covid-19 restrictions on Wednesday, Miss Sturgeon set out stricter measures for people living in the Central Belt, including saying they should avoid all unnecessary travel.
However, she insisted there was no mandatory travel ban and said those who had booked holidays could still enjoy them. She said: ‘We are not imposing mandatory travel restrictions at this stage, and specifically, we are not insisting that people cancel any half term breaks they have planned.’
Yesterday, Deputy First Minister John Swinney was asked about the confusion and whether holidays were definitely allowed.
He said: ‘Yes, but we ask people to take the greatest of care. That’s the principal piece of advice.
‘Holiday plans can take their course, but people must exercise great care.
‘And, of course, where they are going to areas of the country which may have, for example, a lesser prevalence of coronavirus, to be respectful of the fact that we don’t want to be any way responsible for the spread of the virus in other communities.’
However, the restrictions caused concerns in the tourism sector, already struggling f oll owing months of restrictions.
Following the announcement of a Scotland-wide lockdown in March, the industry, including hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation, was forced to remain closed until July.
Last month, the First Minister said the ban on household mixing in Scotland meant that families who had been hoping to take a holiday together in self- catering accommodation would no longer be able to do so if they did not live in a single household.
Yesterday Scott Mitchell, owner of Ten Hill Place Hotel in Edinburgh, wrote an open letter to MSPs warning that the future of his business is at risk.
He said that following the First Minister’s announcement, he had lost £30,000 in cancelled bookings.
Mr Hill believes the new restrictions across the Central Belt will ‘bring an industry which has been unfairly impacted over the last six months to its knees’.
He said: ‘As it stands, the restrictions on the hotel and hospitality industry mean that guests are extremely unlikely to choose any of the affected five health board areas for short-term visits, given that alcohol sales cease at 6pm for hotel residents, and pubs, licenced restaurants and cafes will be unable to serve alcohol resulting in the café and restaurant experience being dramatically impacted. It appears only takeaway outlets will be operating as normal.
‘Within five minutes of the announcement being made, we received six cancellations f or bookings over the coming weekend of October 9.’
Mr Mitchell revealed he had already been forced to make 30 staff redundant last month – and was now watching as ‘ business levels drop’ further.
He said: ‘ Instead of effectively closing hotels by limiting our services, not allowing music, discouraging travel from other Scottish areas, a message has been sent out to say that parts of Scotland are closed.
‘What should have happened is that Scottish hotels should have been promoted as one of the safest places to go to stay, dine, drink and socialise in a controlled environment supervised by properly trained and qualified staff.
‘ It i s my opinion that these recent, regressive and unnecessary restriction on hotels and hospitality will actually have the opposite impact on Covid transmission than that intended.’
‘This industry is in tatters’ ‘Will actually have opposite impact’