STA Statement: Scottish Tourism Alliance responds to UK Government Spring Budget 2023 Statement
Responding to today’s UK Government Spring Budget 2023 statement, Marc Crothall MBE, CEO of the Scottish Tourism Alliance said:
“Today’s Budget announcement by The Chancellor brings a mix of some positive outcomes for Scotland’s tourism sector; the news from the OBR forecast that the UK will not enter a technical recession and that inflation will fall to 2.9% by the end of the year will be met with relief.
However, the announcement that the government will press ahead with an increase in corporation tax will be met with real concern and anxiety by many.
A significant number of businesses within Scotland’s tourism sector are currently on a cliff edge with the continuing rise in the costs of doing business, taxation and impact of the cost-of-living crisis. Revenue is down, costs are up and inward investment is impossible; survival is looking bleak. The increase in corporation tax will be a burden too heavy to bear for many, which will end up costing the UK Government more in terms of lost tax revenue.
There is however some good news with the announcement of £8.6M funding for Edinburgh’s festivals; a huge security boost to our increasingly financially constrained culture sector. This will allow improved planning and marketing of festival events and bolsters the appeal of Scotland as an international destination.
Scotland’s festival economy contributes more than £300m a year to the UK, so it’s heartening to see acknowledgement and recognition of the potential of Scotland’s tourism and culture sectors as future economic drivers for both Scotland and the UK.
I know that many in the hard-pressed pub sector will welcome the announcement of the freeze on duty for draught products at a time of rising costs for all within the hospitality industry.
The freezing of fuel duty and announcement of the extension to of the Energy Price Guarantee until June may offer some comfort to consumers and ease on domestic expenditure which could translate to the uptake of more leisure experiences within the tourism and hospitality sector.
However, many businesses will be left disappointed that they will not receive an equivalent cap on their energy prices. Our recent Business Barometer highlighted that energy costs was the challenge most frequently identified by respondents.
I look forward to hearing more around the detail of the announcement of at least one new investment zone in Scotland in due course, although we would most certainly wished to have seen a much stronger commitment by the UK government in levelling up more areas in Scotland which would benefit from the generation of economic growth.”
Read the full statement here.
