April 2021 - Page 5 of 8

Re-Opening of Self-Catering

Posted on April 20, 2021April 22, 2021 by Fiona Campbell

Self-catering stands ready to welcome guests back to our properties on 26 April but more information and support is needed. Scotland remains a welcoming country, and visitors and locals will benefit from the reopening of the sector. Tourism makes Scotland richer, economically and socially, and without it Scotland would be a much poorer place.

With international travel unlikely for the foreseeable future, there is an opportunity to boost the domestic tourism market after an extremely challenging year financially, and to enable families to take a well-deserved and safe holiday in Scotland when tourist accommodation reopens.

Reopening will provide a sorely needed economic boost to self-catering businesses – who are ready and eager to welcome back customers from Scotland and the rest of the UK – as well as local communities, particularly in island, rural and remote areas.

As an industry, we recognise our responsibility in helping to prevent the spread of the virus and we want to take all possible measures to mitigate this and provide reassurance to consumers. Self-caterers in Scotland have robust government-backed cleaning protocols in place that underpins their commitment to safe and responsible reopening. Public health officials have provided assurances that self-catering poses minimal risk and is safer than other forms of accommodation.

We encourage all visitors to Scotland to treat the area and communities that they are visiting with respect and courtesy to help preserve, protect and maintain the high standards and amazing experiences to which our country is renowned. We would encourage all visitors to plan ahead, check arrangements with the businesses they wish to visit, and book in advance.

The ASSC welcomes the Scottish Government’s timetable for sectoral reopening but ongoing financial provision is required for some self-caterers as household meeting restrictions will continue to impact the viability of some businesses, particularly larger self-catering accommodation, until we reach Level 0.

COVID-19 and its associated restrictions have hammered our sector so any further delays, insufficient support and guidance, or regression to previous levels would be a catastrophe for our sector.

Fiona Campbell

Chief Executive

Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers

Radio Scotland Drive Time 20th April:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): tourism and hospitality sector guidance

Posted on April 16, 2021April 16, 2021 by Fiona Campbell

Guidance for the tourism and hospitality sector, including procedures for staff and customer safety and an operations checklist has been published. This guidance is for the tourism and hospitality sectors in Scotland. It remains in effect until further notice. It will be kept under review.

Statutory guidance for the hospitality sector was implemented on 14 August 2020. This remains current for the next reopening phase of the sector from 26 April 2021.

The sectors covered by this guidance are diverse with broad reach across Scotland’s economic landscape, encompassing many thousands of businesses of varying models and size. It is therefore necessary for this guidance to take a strategic approach, but it is designed for use by:

all accommodation providers (hotels, B&Bs, self-catering, caravan/holiday parks etc. )
visitor attractions
marine and adventure tourism
other activity or experience tourism operations/centres
tour operators
pubs, cafes, restaurants and general hospitality
retail aspects of tourism
natural spaces insofar as they relate to tourism, such as the National Parks
funfairs and amusement parks (static and mobile)
licensed bingo clubs
casinos
guided walking tours

Scotland’s Top Holiday Homes Booked Out

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Fiona Campbell

Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, welcomed this week’s announcement that cross-border travel would resume on April 26 but demanded “urgent further clarity” on when larger cottages and apartments can reopen to multiple households.

Only one household can visit self-catering accommodation from April 26, rising to four people from two households from May 17.

She said: “Our members haven’t seen a significant uptake in bookings following the announcement but we did see a spike in bookings earlier this year and we’re all excited to see guests returning to our properties.

“The news that our members who operate their properties in Scotland’s island communities will not face the additional barrier of travel restrictions and will be treated the same way as those in the rest of the country is also most welcome. However, self-catering still faces serious uncertainty, caused by the lack of an indicative date for those larger properties which has the dire consequence of making them unviable for the foreseeable future.

“What is also needed, especially for those larger businesses, is more financial support from the Scottish government, which we believe must be in place until Scotland enters level zero.”