The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) Chief Executive, Marc Crothall has written to Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism today with an ask that the Scottish Government gives careful evaluation and due consideration to agreeing to the 1m parameter for distancing to avoid the collapse of many parts of the tourism sector and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.
cites the Lancet and the WHO on the relative safety of maintaining 1 metre distance and warns that the majority of its members do not believe that it will economically viable to reopen at 2 metres and would have to remain closed until guidance changed. “Many may not be able to hold out until then and the difference could mean many tens of thousands of jobs being saved or lost.”
The letter also notes the numbers of day-trippers to countryside locations over the weekend and suggests that some tourism sectors like self-catering and static caravan holiday parks should be allowed to open soon, which “could potentially act as a ‘safety valve’, offering permitted holiday travel”.
