Hotels close as holiday group hit by pandemic
Two prominent Scarborough hotels have shut
Two hotels in Scarborough are among 44 around the country that have closed after a holiday operator went into administration.
It was announced on Friday that The Specialist Leisure Group had appointed administrators, meaning holidays, cruises, tours and hotel breaks were cancelled by nine different operators.
SLG operated several businesses that sold holidays and other travel arrangements.
Among them was Bay Hotels and Country Living Hotels. Bay Hotels operated the Bay Norbreck Hotel and Bay New Southlands Hotel, both in Scarborough, and the Bay Royal Hotel in Whitby.
Country Living operated the Country Living St George in Harrogate.
Other SLG businesses which have ceased trading are Shearings, National Holidays, ukbreakaways.com, Coast and Country Hotels, Caledonian Travel, Wallace Arnold Travel and sportingbreaks.com.
As well as the hotel closures, Scarborough will be hit by the demise of the coach operators that brought day trippers and holidaymakers to the coast.
All Wallace Arnold Travel shops are now permanently closed, it was also announced.
A statement on the group’s website said: “The Specialist Leisure Group operated several businesses that sold holidays and other travel arrangements.
“All tours, cruises, holidays and hotel breaks booked with the Specialist Leisure Group have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.
“All hotels trading as Bay Hotels, Coast & Country Hotels and Country Living Hotels will not reopen.”
Figures from the National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) show that nearly seven per cent of the country’s coastal tourism businesses have already been forced to close due to the pandemic.
Their research also shows that the value of the coastal tourism industry could be almost halved.
But the NCTA says there is hope that coastal tourism may be boosted by evidence of a strong demand for a seaside break. It says an increase in interest could provide an opportunity for the coast to attract entirely new audiences, and give businesses a chance to tackle the problem of seasonality, with many considering openinglongerintothewinter season to recoup losses.