Press statement: Scottish Tourism Alliance responds to draft budget
Marc Crothall, CEO of the Scottish Tourism Alliance said:
“The Finance Secretary made some very welcome announcements in today’s draft Budget; the continuation of the current Non-Domestic Rates relief for at least three months will come as a relief for businesses in the short-term, however this won’t go far enough in terms of supporting tourism businesses to a point of reopening and financial viability therefore it is crucial that additional funding comes from the Treasury to support a further extension.
The STA has been instrumental in campaigning for an extension and a lower poundage rate and we are pleased that our asks have been recognised, with Ms Forbes announcing the lowering of the poundage rate to 49p.
The commitment today to support the delivery of some of the recommendations of the Tourism Task Force is very much welcomed as is the budget allocation to improve Scotland’s digital infrastructure through high quality broadband and improved mobile coverage and also our physical infrastructure and transport.
The announcement that the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund will be doubled to support tourist attractions which have been so badly exposed financially as a result of the pandemic, with many receiving little or no funding to date will come as good news to many businesses and community organisations which can now plan to create the right foundations to welcome visitors to our rural areas when travel restrictions ease.*
The announcement that the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund will be doubled will come as good news to many businesses and community organisations which can now plan to create the right foundations to welcome visitors to our rural areas when travel restrictions ease.
The focus on developing our people is one of the key priorities of Scotland’s tourism strategy, Scotland 2030 and I am delighted to see the substantial investment in education to support recovery of the sector and bring young, emerging talent into Scotland’s tourism industry. This is absolutely critical if we are to build a sustainable, innovative and attractive tourism product to showcase to the world.
I look forward to our continued conversations with Ms Forbes over the coming weeks to learn more detail around the breakdown of the figures announced today; the STA will be meeting with Minister Stewart from the Scotland Office on Monday and will press further for increased support from the Treasury to support many of the priority areas which we have detailed throughout the pandemic and to ensure that the Non-Domestic Rates relief can be further extended beyond the three months announced today.
In addition to these announcements of support, what the industry needs now is a route map for reopening domestic tourism and additional support packages to protect the sector, especially for those businesses that are heavily dependent on international tourism, given the Scottish and UK government’s current position on international travel to the UK.
It is heartening to see that many of the STA’s policy agenda priorities have been adopted in this budget and is testament to the strength of relationship our industry and the STA has with the Scottish Government and their understanding of the short and longer term needs of the sector.”
*Following the release of our statement, we were informed by the Scottish Government that there was an error in the Budget terminology and that ‘attractions’ should have been referred to as ‘destinations’.
