Scotland's battered tourism industry this week signalled its “bitter” disappointment that hotels, pubs, restaurants and visitor attractions are still being denied lifeline grants to support them through the coronavirus pandemic.
The Scottish Tourism Alliance has been campaigning alongside groups such as the Scottish Licensed Trade Association for greater financial assistance for the hospitality industry, arguing that the methodology used to determine grants has ruled thousands of outlets out of receiving support.
In one case, a leading voice in Scotland’s crucial golf tourism sector said he feared he may have to stop trading at his East Lothian hotel as the coronavirus looks set to wipe out the summer season.
The struggles of leading hotelier Malcolm Duck are emblematic of the catastrophe facing hundreds of Scottish #tourism businesses right now. Time is running out to keep them afloat. https://t.co/cMjk3OXmzt
— Scott Wright (@ScottWWright) May 30, 2020
Malcolm Duck said he is now considering all options for the 23-bedroom Duck’s Inn at Aberlady he runs with his wife after being denied a Scottish Government grant to support the business through the pandemic.
Along the supply chain, the chief of a Glasgow-based wholesale firm feels the plight of specialist on-trade suppliers has been overlooked amid the continuing focus on the effects of coronavirus on pubs, hotels, and restaurants.
READ MORE: Jim Rowan, managing director of Dunns Food & Drink, said suppliers to the Scottish licensed trade have seen business shattered by the Covid-19 pandemic, and fears it will be well into next year before a recovery of substance will be under way.
Also this week, Scottish Borders-based Hutton Stone boss flags stalled cash-flow challenge for SMEs as they emerge from coronavirus lockdown
In an exclusive interview with The Herald, the co-founder of the company that has secured the £25 million Rangers Football Club kit contract this week told how the Ibrox ethos and fanbase is central to his firm’s global growth ambitions.
The co-founder of the company that has secured the £25 million Rangers Football Club kit contract has told how the Ibrox ethos and fanbase is central to his firm’s global growth ambitions | @BrianDonnellyHT https://t.co/ePmmTUUpII pic.twitter.com/M5SjKEcfCj
— Herald Business (@_HeraldBusiness) May 29, 2020
Energy giant BP ths week appointed a Glasgow-born veteran of the oil and gas industry to run its North Sea business as it grapples with the plunge in commodity prices triggered by the coronavirus.
Ian McConnell: Brexit circus tensions build as UK and EU reach critical point
Scott Wright: Covid crisis has left battered high street struggling to survive
Mark Williamson: Hopes for West of Shetland boom fade with oil price fall
Kristy Dorsey: Coronavirus - what now: Will business ever be the same again?
Monday Interview: ‘Our travel and leisure sector clients have been decimated’
SME Focus: Home delivery move helps baker rise to coronavirus challenge
First look: Contract awarded to build flagship National Manufacturing Institute Scotland facility, 1.5 times size of Hampden pitch | @ianmcconnellHT https://t.co/94YTIy7hKa pic.twitter.com/rGthYyclFQ
— Herald Business (@_HeraldBusiness) May 30, 2020
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