Highlands and Islands MSP, Edward Mountain, is pleased that the Scottish Government today told tourism businesses to prepare to re-open on 15 July. However, Edward Mountain has also questioned why the tourism sector cannot open from the 9 July, when the Scottish Government is due to announce the confirmation of the re-opening.
Following this announcement, Edward Mountain is also seeking much-needed clarification on if there will be a limit on the number of families allowed to stay within self-catering accommodation when they are allowed to re-open.
The MSP is a vocal campaigner on the issue of supporting Highland tourism and, more recently, campaigned to secure a new £3 million fund from the Scottish Government for B&Bs without business bank accounts.
Edward Mountain MSP said:
“This is good news. However, if the Scottish Government is announcing confirmation of this decision on the 9 July, I question why tourism businesses have to wait a further week to re-open.
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.”
