Cautious welcome as July 15 is given as provisional date for tourism industry restart
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Jamie Stone has given a cautious welcome to the potential reopening of Scotland's tourism industry just over a month from now.
The Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross was speaking after July 15 was given as a provisional date when tourism businesses may be able to resume.
The announcement was made by Scotland's tourism secretary Fergus Ewing, who emphasised that it would depend on public health advice and progression to phase three of the Scottish Government's lockdown route map.
Mr Stone said: "Our tourism and hospitality businesses have endured a huge amount during the pandemic. Now more than ever both UK and Scottish governments should be ready to offer a financial helping hand to get them back on their feet and ready for July 15.
"I look forward to the Scottish Government's guidance, which Fergus Ewing promises to publish on June 18. It is important that businesses are given as much time as possible to prepare.
"I would urge anyone in the far north concerned about the guidance to keep in contact with me, so I can feed into the Scottish Government's guidance."
A new Scottish Recovery Tourism Taskforce will help with the reset of the sector. It will look at recovery needs as well as actions being taken by the UK government and the development of a new domestic visitor marketing campaign.
Mr Ewing said the taskforce is in addition to the £2.3 billion package of support for businesses across Scotland which includes measures specific to the tourism and hospitality industry, such as a full year’s non-domestic rates relief and specific grant schemes that are not available elsewhere in the UK.
“The coronavirus pandemic has presented challenges across the entirety of the Scottish economy, but it is very clear there are exceptional circumstances facing this sector that must be recognised," Mr Ewing said.
“We have acted as quickly as we can to address the significant financial challenges faced by businesses and provide a comprehensive package of support. We are also pushing the UK government to do more, including a review of VAT rates and to consider extensions to schemes such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
“I’ve been engaging with businesses since the beginning of the outbreak and I have heard their calls for more clarity which today I can provide. Businesses should start to prepare for a provisional return to trading – with appropriate safety guidelines – on July 15, 2020.
“This date cannot be definitive and is conditional on public health advice and progression to phase three of the route map. Businesses must now use this time to satisfy the necessary regulations and adapt to the new way of living.”
Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Edward Mountain questioned why the tourism sector could not reopen earlier. He is also seeking clarification on whether there will be a limit on the number of families allowed to stay within self-catering accommodation.
"This is good news," Mr Mountain said. "However, if the Scottish Government is announcing confirmation of this decision on July 9, I question why tourism businesses have to wait a further week to reopen.
"If this is due to a public transport issue this seems slightly diminished as the majority of people travelling to the Highlands for a holiday do so by their own means and not on public transport.
"Given that these self-catering businesses have four weeks to prepare from today they will not need an extra week when they already working so hard to rebuild their businesses and livelihoods.
"Attention also needs to turn to encouraging domestic tourists to make bookings again, and that’s why we need to know if there will be a limit on the number of families allowed to stay within self-catered accommodation.
"We need an answer from the Scottish Government as soon as possible so that tourists have the confidence to book their Highland holiday.”
At the end of last month, leading figures in tourism and hospitality across the north Highlands stepped up their campaign for urgent action by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to help businesses reopen this summer – and "avoid the collapse of our industry".
