Press statement: Tourism industry reacts to First Minister’s announcement
Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance said:
“The First Minister’s announcement that the easing of restrictions will be delayed for the next three weeks will be disappointing for tourism businesses across Scotland, despite this being what we had all anticipated, particularly with schools breaking up this week and people planning days out and holidays. This is particularly impactful on larger self-catering properties where the restrictions on the number of people who can stay in one property remain in place; the 19th July is almost three weeks into our summer season and I know that many within the self-catering sector will be extremely anxious about business losses during this period and will be hoping there will be some more support to compensate
We now need to ensure there is a strong, highly visible marketing campaign to attract the UK market to Scotland for an extended period beyond the Scottish school summer holiday and well into the autumn. Businesses will need this additional trading period to make up for the losses incurred during the first part of the busy season and to ensure that they can build cash reserves to carry them through the shoulder season as many seasonal operators are saying they simply won’t be able to get through the winter period without additional support.
That said, the announcement that Scotland will move to level 0 on the provisional date of 19 July is welcome relief for the sector and indeed the supply chain, as is the confirmation of the indicative date of 9 August for moving beyond level 0. This target date of 9th August will give all of Scotland’s tourism industry a welcome boost, particularly the sectors which have been impacted so significantly by physical distancing rules such as hospitality, visitor attractions, adventure operators and marine tourism businesses.
This however does not detract from the importance of getting the international market moving as soon as it is safe to do so and businesses which remain significantly impacted by the loss of our international visitors must continue to receive financial support until such time as they are able to trade viably.
I know that my colleagues in the Scottish Wedding Industry Alliance will also be appreciative of the announcements today which will allow the sector to operate in the most normal conditions we’ve known since the outbreak of the pandemic.
A very big step in the right direction, after the most painful period on record for the tourism sector and a light at the end of a very long tunnel.”
