Interview with Economy Secretary on Politics Scotland on opening up of the tourism sector
Gordon Brewer interviewed the Economy Secretary on this morning’s Politics Scotland show on BBC One, posing some key questions on the opening up of Scotland’s tourism industry.
Transcript of interview below:
GB: What is the message to the tourist industry? A lot of people are very concerned about whether they can even think about taking bookings for this summer season or even late holidays in the Autumn if there’s going to be a big rise in staycations. What is the message to them? Do they have to write off the summer season and the Autumn?
FH: I would hope that they would have a season. We won’t know until we see the pattern, particularly as we phase through this easing of the lockdown what the pattern of this virus will be but we do want to support them. We want to keep them in a productive capacity. As I speak there are tens of millions of pounds being issued by the unique and special Scottish Government scheme, the resilience fund and also the hardship fund for the hospitality industry. I also think that there should be a cut in VAT by the UK government. I think that because they were the first to come in, they’ll be the last to come out…it’s essential that they have support continued on the job retention scheme but also in terms of saving a season, we must look at additional packages of support, I know Fergus Ewing, the Tourism Secretary is doing that and he has regular discussions with that sector.
GB: Everything you’ve described is giving financial support to them because they’re shut down. What they want to know is if there is ,chance they can actually take bookings and have a season this summer or this Autumn?
FH: I’m very keen that they can do that. There’ll be certain parts of the sector that may be able to reopen sooner than others.
GB: How can they do that? We’re about to get into June in a week’s time. How can people take bookings for the summer?
FH: If you look at the movement of people, we need to ensure that there is a relaxation to allow people to move so that they can have those staycations. We’re not in that situation just now. I think there needs to be a huge support for the tourism sector from Scots who when they are able to book holidays, they can and they do that in Scotland but it might be a later season than we might ordinarily have. It’s important to help them have a season and that’s why there are a number of different measures that we’re putting in place but a lot of this is on the UK government. Many of these businesses have rateable values of over £51k – we’d be very keen for the UK government to extend their funding and support for that sector. I’ve already spoken to the ministers in BEIS and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ensure that they understand there have to be sectoral differences for the extension of support, particularly for tourism and hospitality, culture and heritage which are hugely important to Scotland and they need to understand that.
GB: So, there might be a season, but you’re not really sure yet and you mentioned people in Scotland taking vacations in Scotland, well of course a lot of people who take vacations in Scotland come from other parts of the United Kingdom and a lot of people in Scotland, even if they want to have a staycation will think of that as going to England or Wales or perhaps to Northern Ireland.
FH: Well we are several weeks behind the UK in terms of our experience of the virus, you’ve seen that in terms of our public health messaging and you’ve also seen that in terms of our easing of our lockdown now we are working where we can on a four nation basis. Those timeframes mean that we will be behind them in a number of weeks in terms of easing out of peoples’ movement but we have to build confidence in people because it’s also what the tourism sector wants.
GB: You have to build confidence but you have to build clarity. Are you suggesting that even if there is a season this year for the tourist industry in Scotland that people from England can’t come here?
FH: Of course we would want people from England to come here when it is safe to do so and we’ve made quite clear in terms of or document phase two and phase three there are not definitive dates in that; that will be driven by the experience of the virus and the experience in terms of what happens when we start easing. If we can deliver phase one safely and well without increasing the infection rate in the community, it will make it easier to help bring forward those dates that people want to hear.
GB: If I were someone watching this and I ran a small hotel, or some sort of tourist business, I’d just want some guideline as to whether or not I’d be able to have any business over the summer and the Autumn and frankly I’d be thinking I’m no clearer whether I can or not.
FH: If you wanted me to give you a definitive date today, I cannot do that because the public health situation means we cannot with certainty give a firm date. I will support them to have a season.
GB: Another issue which is obviously very important for restaurants and bars is this two metre rule. Is that being looked at because for example, if it was a one metre rule, rather than a two metre rule…that could mean the difference between having a viable bar and restaurant, when they’re allowed to reopen and not having a viable one.
FH: What we’re doing now is obviously looking at what safe looks like for work environments and clearly in terms of restaurants that two metre rule really causes issues. You’ll see in the phasing that outdoor restaurants are part of that phasing in terms of how we can come back but in terms of the science of this… I am not a public health expert and I am not going to tell you that somehow we can move from two to one.
GB: But is this something you’re looking at?
FH: Certainly in terms of working with that sector because they have got real challenges. We want to engage with them, we want our public health advisors and experts to engage with the sector to see what is possible. I have to be clear, at the moment two metres remains the rule.
