First Minister confirms ‘indicative timeline’ announcement on economy reopening for 16th March
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed this afternoon that from this Friday, restrictions on meeting up outdoors for social and recreational purposes would be eased and also added; “We hope to be in a position to relax – at least to some extent – travel restrictions within Scotland in the weeks ahead…”
In her statement to the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon also said:
I expect that further, more substantial changes will be possible in the weeks ahead, and I will set out as much detail as I can about that in Parliament next week. If the data allows us to relax more restrictions more quickly than we have previously indicated, we will not hesitate to do so”
The First Minister confirmed that a more indicative timeline for the reopening of the economy would be given on Tuesday 16th March.
STA Forums meet with Cabinet Secretary
The STA Destination and Hospitality Member Forum of which the SLTA is a member, met with the Cabinet Secretary, Fergus Ewing this week to put questions to him around the proposed strategic framework for easing lockdown restrictions announced by the First Minister last month and to raise the most pressing issues faced by the different sectors in our tourism industry.
Issues discussed included:
- Uncertainty around future bookings
- Clarity needed for reopening date
- The need for a robust plan and framework to stimulate international travel
- The importance of a marketing campaign now to ensure Scotland doesn’t lose out on market share
- Concern around lack of alignment with the UK
- How long quarantine measures will continue for
- How social distancing will look as restrictions ease
- The impact of travel/level restrictions/how these could be eased to support tourism the sector
- Short-term lets regulation
- The need for clear messaging around reopening to support our communities and ensure all are comfortable as things to begin to reopen
- Issues around the return of European workers to Scotland and the need to support – our businesses are reliant on them
- Future investment – levels of debt are high, businesses are continuing to borrow/use savings and pensions to stay afloat which will mean a widespread lack of investment in businesses and our future tourism product
- Support packages and future funding for industry
- The role of Scotland’s enterprise agencies in providing targeted support
- The need for support for Scotland’s cities, particularly with the lack of international inbound travel
- The situation for golf tourism operators as a result of international travel restrictions
- The future of air routes to Scotland