Ross tourism industry faces Covid-19 'disaster' without support as pandemic takes toll
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FEARS are growing that a disaster may be brewing in the Ross-shire tourist industry as the Covid-19 pandemic begins to bite deep.
Several politicians have voiced their concerns over how "vulnerable" the tourism trade and wider Highland economy are to the impact of the pandemic.
And some have warned that there'll be a "disaster on our hands" unless further government action is taken to support the sector.
They were speaking after two prominent Ross hotels confirmed they were closing their doors after their parent company went into insolvency.
Hart Hotels Ltd, which owns the Garve Hotel in Garve and Mackay's Hotel in Strathpeffer, collapsed last week after the coach tour operator David Urquhart Travel entered insolvency.
Both hotels were heavily reliant on coach holidays for their income, and had been expected to welcome more than 60 David Urquhart Travel tours between them before the end of 2020.
News of their closures also came just hours after David Urquhart (Travel) Ltd announced plans to wind up its coach tour holiday business. Both it and Hart Hotels Ltd have the same three directors. And the Garve Hotel and Mackay's Hotel were particularly exposed to the collapse of the tour operator – as they had been expected to welcome more than 60 coach holidays between them before the end of 2020.
The collapse of the 36-year-old business, which last year made a near £1m loss, has highlighted the damage that the pandemic could cause to the wider tourism sector.
The Federation of Small Businesses' Highlands & Islands development manager, David Richardson, said: "The closure of these businesses is bad news all round: for the owners, staff and customers; and for their suppliers, local and national, and the local shops and attractions that benefit from coach travellers' spend.
"Sadly, we know from our own researches that these business closures are not likely to be the last, and the FSB is doing everything possible to encourage the UK and Scottish Governments to support otherwise viable, vibrant firms through this crisis and beyond.
"However, it's not just down to governments; we can all play our parts by supporting local businesses – "keeping trade local"... and by ensuring that all visitors are given a warm welcome as soon as the government says that it is safe to let them return."
The Scottish Council for Development and Industry's regional director, Ian Armstrong, echoed Mr Richardson's concerns, saying that the Highlands and Islands economy was particularly reliant on tourism. He added that while he felt that continued restrictions on international travel might help local tourism recover first – he nevertheless fears that any domestic 'bounce' could be slow to emerge.
He doesn't see a return to 'normal' hotel trade levels this year, adding: "Even if they have space to accommodate social distancing, there's still a fine line as to whether they can [accommodate] enough people to make it worthwhile opening."
"I think there'll be more [closures] sadly, I suspect not just in the Highlands and Islands but Scotland as a whole."
Prominent Ross-shire figures fear that there may be further business failures as the pandemic eats into the summer tourist season.
Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone said: "The money taken in during the tourism season has to be sufficient to see businesses have enough in the bank to get them through the dark, cold months.
"Even if the pandemic were to end in a few months, much of the tourism season would have gone. That is why I support... proposals to introduce a 12-month national support package to secure the survival of the tourism industry until the summer of 2021," he concluded, adding that there will be "disaster on our hands" if no action is taken.
Highlands and Islands MSP Maree Todd said the loss of the hotels in Garve and Strathpeffer were a major blow, as they were not just vital employers but also key parts of community life, highlighting, as an example, that Mackay's Hotel has a swimming pool which locals have long used.
"It's really sad news and I think communities not only feel the loss of these hotels quite keenly but also have concerns about the wider industry."
"We're all astonished and shocked at quite how vulnerable our economies have been made by this virus," she added, saying that her constituency office staff and fellow MSPs had been working night and day after being "overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people contacting us with tourism industry concerns".
She praised the "phenomenal cross-party support" there had been to help the industry and stressed that the Scottish Government was keen to add support for any groups that had been missing out – urging any business which isn't getting the support it needs to let politicians know so they can help.
Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP Ian Blackford said that economic concerns were "part of the reason why I’ve been so keen to see a universal basic income introduced" by Westminster.
He added: “I am distressed to hear of the pressures that these companies are under, they provide much to communities such as Strathpeffer and Garve. I am in contact with business owners and workers right across the constituency and I will continue doing the best that I can to support them. It is imperative that the UK government do the same and I will continue to push to make sure that this happens.”
But he also stressed the importance that people continue to make "every effort" to stick to the "stringent lockdown measures that are in place". His comments came amid growing concerns that loosening of some lockdown restrictions in England could cause a second spike of Covid-19, or prompt Scots to flout important safety measures still in place north of the border.
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