Tourism and hospitality should remain closed until at least 2021
All hospitality and tourism businesses should remain closed for the rest of this year. This includes pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, self-catering holiday lets, campsites and tourist attractions. Motorhomes and caravans should be banned from leaving home so that they cannot 'wild camp'.
We are repeatedly told that we have to keep the "R" number below one in order for the virus not to spread exponentially. Every activity that involves meeting other people has some risk but some are much riskier than others. For example, visiting a friend or family member in their own home must be among the lowest risk. However, anything that involves large groups of people in close proximity (bars, restaurants, tourist attractions etc) or people travelling (holiday accomodation) is much riskier and risks the "R" number going way above one.
Holidays are not essential. Visits to pubs and tourist attractions are not essential. As well as potentially spreading the virus, anyone travelling to another area for a holiday, particularly a remote rural area, puts strain on local resources including shops, fuel stations and medical services. If tourism businesses are not closed down, then there will likely be a surge in tourist numbers from within the UK, since travel abroad is unlikely to be possible in the near future.
I think that all tourism and hospitality businesses should close for the rest of this year and that the situation should be reviewed in early 2021. If this were the case then everyone would know where they stand and could plan accordingly.
Those employed in the tourist and hospitality industries would need to be supported by grants/benefits. According to the government statistic website, there are around 250,000 people employed in these industries, which is about 9% of the total workforce. It's a large number but not as large as in many other (essential) industries.
I do realise that people need something to look forward to and a holiday or trip out to a bar/restaurant is one such thing. However I think it is far more sensible to open up lower risk things like seeing family or friends in their own homes and open up more shops and services (e.g. garden centres and recycling centres) with appropriate social distancing and safety measures. These steps would give people a bit of hope that things are moving towards to a 'new normal' without the huge risks that opening up the travel and hospitality industry would bring.
We are repeatedly told that we have to keep the "R" number below one in order for the virus not to spread exponentially. Every activity that involves meeting other people has some risk but some are much riskier than others. For example, visiting a friend or family member in their own home must be among the lowest risk. However, anything that involves large groups of people in close proximity (bars, restaurants, tourist attractions etc) or people travelling (holiday accomodation) is much riskier and risks the "R" number going way above one.
Holidays are not essential. Visits to pubs and tourist attractions are not essential. As well as potentially spreading the virus, anyone travelling to another area for a holiday, particularly a remote rural area, puts strain on local resources including shops, fuel stations and medical services. If tourism businesses are not closed down, then there will likely be a surge in tourist numbers from within the UK, since travel abroad is unlikely to be possible in the near future.
I think that all tourism and hospitality businesses should close for the rest of this year and that the situation should be reviewed in early 2021. If this were the case then everyone would know where they stand and could plan accordingly.
Those employed in the tourist and hospitality industries would need to be supported by grants/benefits. According to the government statistic website, there are around 250,000 people employed in these industries, which is about 9% of the total workforce. It's a large number but not as large as in many other (essential) industries.
I do realise that people need something to look forward to and a holiday or trip out to a bar/restaurant is one such thing. However I think it is far more sensible to open up lower risk things like seeing family or friends in their own homes and open up more shops and services (e.g. garden centres and recycling centres) with appropriate social distancing and safety measures. These steps would give people a bit of hope that things are moving towards to a 'new normal' without the huge risks that opening up the travel and hospitality industry would bring.
Why the contribution is important
There are many calls for a partial opening up of the tourist industry but as far as I can see this is impossible to regulate. Everyone thinks that by taking a holiday themselves it won't make any difference but the problem is in the numbers of people doing so. Just look at the huge numbers of people flocking to the Highlands in the few days before lockdown. Each of those people individually thought it was a jolly good idea and that they weren't doing any harm but the numbers quickly multiply up and cause problems.
If the industries remained closed for a definite period - e.g. until the end of 2020 - then the message is crystal clear, everyone knows where they are and can plan accordingly.
By the way, I am in the tourist industry myself; I own holiday accomodation in the Highlands. I have closed it for the rest of the year regardless of what the government does with lockdown, because I don't feel that encouraging people to come on holiday here this year is the right thing to do for the reasons stated above. I have no income at the moment - like many other people - but there are support systems in place to stop us from starving. You can recover from your business failing for a year. You can't recover from dying from COVID-19.
If the industries remained closed for a definite period - e.g. until the end of 2020 - then the message is crystal clear, everyone knows where they are and can plan accordingly.
By the way, I am in the tourist industry myself; I own holiday accomodation in the Highlands. I have closed it for the rest of the year regardless of what the government does with lockdown, because I don't feel that encouraging people to come on holiday here this year is the right thing to do for the reasons stated above. I have no income at the moment - like many other people - but there are support systems in place to stop us from starving. You can recover from your business failing for a year. You can't recover from dying from COVID-19.
by TracyMcLachlan on May 09, 2020 at 12:05PM
Posted by Robert1000 May 09, 2020 at 12:37
I also have to be honest. Just saying to business plan to be closed for the rest of the year is naïve. Our children and grandchildren deserve better from us than to just kick the financial mess down the road for them to live with.
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by Bec May 09, 2020 at 12:42
The government have to find a balance between health and the economy or more people will die because of a drop in GDP than covid-19. We can't isolate longterm and I don't envy the people who have to make the decision to ease it.
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by MargaretAnne May 09, 2020 at 12:47
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by Shabbyhouse May 09, 2020 at 13:13
Staged reopening, could for instance mean campsites with large spaces between pitches, beer gardens in pubs selling off-sales etc.
July 1st sees the opening of the red deer stag season, and I fully expect that access will have been granted by then.
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by Dave_H May 09, 2020 at 13:26
Instead we should in due course (not right now) look at ways that hospitality can re open.
For instance allow a guest house to re open, providing all occupants in a room are from the same family that normally live together. As restaurants will probably not be open, the guest house would have to offer full or half board, with meals either being in a dining room large enough to distance from other guests, or on a rota basis so different gusts are fed at different times.
and use of communal lounges should be discouraged to prevent different family groups intermixing.
We have to find some way to get businesses like this operating again. they cannot just wait until a vaccine is found, or there will be a lot of empty guest houses and bankrupt owners.
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by David924 May 09, 2020 at 13:35
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by SteveR57 May 09, 2020 at 13:40
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by petermuir79 May 09, 2020 at 14:02
All businesses interlink and shutting down one sector shuts down another...and another........and another.
And why until 2021, are you expecting the virus to disappear on the 1st of Jan...or the 1st of Mar...what about the end of April?
The first isnt going away. We dont have a cure for the common cold, were not going to get a cure for this virus.
We need to accept were not going to win, were going to have to live with it like we do with the seasonal Flu.
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by KarenB3 May 09, 2020 at 14:13
I also run a holiday let in the highlands.
Just some of my concerns -
A) guests travelling into our community with the possibility of bringing COVID19 with them.
B) the cleaning up on guest departure incase any guest(s) are infected which can then be passed on. And vice versa, cleaners may be carrying infection which could be passed onto guests. Sorting through dirty linen and the cleaning of bathrooms??
C) How safe is it to have back to back bookings?
I’ve been running for 11 years and don’t appear to be covered by any financial help that is being offered by the government but I’m still very concerned for everyone should we open up too soon and would rather hold fire for the sake of everyone’s health and well being. I would be devastated if, due to the sorry state of my bank account, I’d encouraged the Virus into my home and community. I may vie on the side of slowly, slowly in the short term.
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by JLMBD May 09, 2020 at 14:18
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by freedom1 May 09, 2020 at 14:34
Lock down, was we were told was to help ensure the NHS could cope. They could cope. Holidays are good for you and I'd like to suggest that the benefits to the nation of a holiday this year, say in the beautiful highlands would bring equal benefits to the NHS through improved health & happiness of us all. It would certainly help arrest the concern about the longer term fallout from lock down in terms of future ill health on our health services too.
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by DUFC1983 May 09, 2020 at 15:01
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by MC0891 May 09, 2020 at 16:43
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by TracyMcLachlan May 10, 2020 at 07:16
Scotland - and everywhere else - has to learn that mass tourism is unsustainable while the virus is with us. As I said in my original comment, as soon as you open up a little, hordes of people will be flocking on holiday and you may as well have just removed all restrictions.
The tourist economy is only 4.5% of the total Scottish economy, and that's counting both direct and indirect income (source: VisitScotland.org). The comments from people who think that Scotland's economy is based entirely around tourism are clearly from people who are in the industry themselves and have a skewed viewpoint. Look at the figures to see the big picture.
I am not saying tourism has to close altogether forever and of course it won't, I am saying it needs to be the last thing to reopen from lockdown. And yes, some businesses will fail. They will fail in other sectors as well, not just tourism. I reiterate what I said - you can recover from your business failing (or losing your job) but you can't recover from dying.
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by westa5a May 11, 2020 at 17:17
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)
Posted by Cathol May 11, 2020 at 17:59
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)