Tourism Industry

Industry will suffer greatly but scope for gradual reopening. Self catering facilities could open immediately (perhaps restricted to immediate households) with good cleaning requirements- which should be in place in the 1st place anyway. Can restrict visitors to say from 50-100 miles (there will be lots of staycations this year) and gradually widen - over next 4-6 weeks before school holidays.

Why the contribution is important

Need to give industry some help quickly and this seems low risk. There will be demand for Scottish holidays this year and with quick, graduated and sensible measures could help this industry (often small businesses) survive.

by Davetar on May 05, 2020 at 07:15PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 3.5
Based on: 23 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Stewartw May 05, 2020 at 19:35

    Open up self catering with cleaning guidance and caravan parks

  • Posted by sl806e May 05, 2020 at 19:36

    Why restrict on the basis of mileage though? 50 miles or 250 miles makes no difference. Just open holiday lets full stop.

  • Posted by StaceyF May 05, 2020 at 19:44

    Agree but what do the tourists do? Where do they eat on their holiday if everything else is closed. Have to think on the community also and the Impact

  • Posted by Boggart1234 May 05, 2020 at 19:46

    I think opening self catering with stricter hygiene rules is a sensible idea and probably easier to implement. The mileage thing I guess would depend on how lockdown is lifted and how people are allowed to move between different regions. I understand that if people are travelling from 200+ miles they are likely going to have to stop on the way.

  • Posted by Stephaniekeachie May 05, 2020 at 21:29

    There can’t be a mileage restriction for holiday keys but you could say that it has to be U.K. guests only and they have to answer a health questionnaire first. Eg our holiday cottage business mainly gets people
    Coming down from highlands and up from England. As a family we travel up to Perthshire and stay in self catering (200mile drive) we don’t tend to eat out much and eat in the cottage and do picnics or takeaways. Lots of walks or bike rides.

  • Posted by ChicP May 05, 2020 at 21:30

    Self-catering apartments, cabins etc. could be open, but...
    They are in a similar situation to static caravans which many people own in holiday areas.
    The problem is that because they tend to be in SEASONAL holiday areas and these areas, apparently, don’t have a suitable level of NHS infrastructure to support a seasonally high population. That’s why people aren’t allowed to use their holiday homes. It’s not a self isolation/social distancing issue. It’s an “overwhelming the NHS” issue.
    You can socially distance as much as you like, but what you can’t really do is permit a large population movement if the infrastructure isn’t there.

  • Posted by Jeannie May 05, 2020 at 23:20

    No as they will visit rural areas which will not cope with an influx of tourists bringing the virus with them
    Until the numbers are down for positive cases we need to protect rural communities

  • Posted by JohnHemingway May 06, 2020 at 12:45

    In relaxing the lockdown in a staged way the Scot Government needs to set out criteria against which any relaxation of lockdown in relation to a specific activity or industry is assessed. The criteria will need to change over time. The current hard lockdown is the easiest Phase to apply. Any relaxation from the current rules will have to be clearly communicated and understood by the general population.
    No one wants to live in a Nanny state, but there is information and foresight that country administrations have sight of that only they can assess and apply any decisions on.
    What is important is that any relaxation is seen as 'Common Sense' and not complex and favouring specific business types or segments of society.
    Tourism - Self Catering - we would suggest that any visitors (as has been previously suggested) are asked to confirm that no-one in their party has any CV19 symptoms before arrival, and if any arise during their stay or within 2 weeks of leaving then they should notify the owners (personally I would not trust any Westminster tracking APP Orwellian or what !). We have a duty of care to ourselves and our housekeeper when we service the property. Hence we would look to only have the property open for booking every other week. Allowing 72 hours after the previous guests departure before cleaning/maintenance. The advantage of this is that future guests will have more confidence in booking knowing there has been a 'fallow' period. This clearly would have an impact on profitability but any income is better than none, the grant scheme cannot be extended indefinitely, and the reputation of Scotland the Brand is at stake.
    When such measures were allowed to be applied and the s/catering sector opened up would be down to the Scottish Government to decide, as only they have the big picture. Clearly any relaxation of measures comes with the very real threat that is the R factor increases beyond 1 then the relaxation measures would need to be reversed.
    The ability of businesses to operate with effective Social Distancing, or in stable working 'teams' would also seem to be a common sense option as one of the criteria. Self Catering would give many a relief from lockdown and given that many of the tourism 'attractions' including Pubs and Restaurants, may well not be open in this phase, the threat to rural communities NHS services should be limited.
    Further as we enter the 7th week of lockdown maintenance of equipment and properties are essential to prevent greater capital losses. In a first phase of release owners and trades should be able to visit to maintain the properties provided social distancing can be maintained.
    The situation as the FM has stated is a conundrum. It is without a completely right or wrong answer, but initially the Scottish Government and then later individuals need to be given the licence to assess their own risks in catching/spreading the virus, a degree of trust is required which appears sadly lacking South of the border.

  • Posted by kingofchatelherault May 06, 2020 at 20:14

    Think this makes sense to me, if the right guidance is in place people should still be able to visit holiday homes in a safe manner.

    perhaps restricted to a few close friends and family who are also applying social distancing methods.

  • Posted by Gillon May 06, 2020 at 21:42

    Speaking as a tourism business owner and a member of a small highland community I have to say (and apologise if this sounds rude) but currently we do not want anyone here, journeying here puts our communities at risk, our shops still struggle to get necessary goods for local communities far less coping with an influx of tourists.

    Today a 5th person died on Skye and that is 5 too many, In the Highlands we have a total of 30 ICU beds. Sorry but please stay away because it is being exceptionally selfish for anyone to travel here

  • Posted by RobertDG May 07, 2020 at 09:03

    People are keen to get away from lockdown, but to stay safe.

    Rural self-catering offers the opportunity to bring valuable revenue back to the tourism sector and let our guests remain safe.

    Of course this must be carefully managed. Strict training for housekeeping staff and guests will have to act responsibly to local communities. Done correctly I see very little risk and significant economic benefits.

    But, there aren't just economic benefits. Many of us who live in rural Scotland have been lucky to be able to enjoy open spaces. There will be significant mental and physical health benefits to our guests by allowing them to take self-catering breaks.
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