By Andrew Nicholas

WE’VE been through a time of what many of us would describe as a period of unprecedented change and challenges. Almost exactly two years ago Scotland went into lockdown – back then it’s fair to say the general view was that the situation might last a few months and we would return to normality. Unfortunately, as we know now, that wasn’t the case.

Tourism and hospitality businesses, that obviously rely on people to succeed, have been among the hardest hit, facing a barrage of problems from all corners. Brexit has disrupted some supply chains and access to labour, the ongoing impact of the pandemic has caused major issues when it comes to attracting and retaining staff, and now there are soaring energy costs to contend with.

I would describe the current situation that hospitality and tourism businesses are in as a "perfect storm". I work with tourism and hospitality businesses every day in my role as the chief executive of Green Tourism, the worldaleading sustainability accreditation and support programme, and see the pressure many are under. "Caring for people" is one of our strategic pillars, along with working with places and our planet. So, we’ve spoken to leading members of the tourism and hospitality sectors to find out how they are caring for their people and how this is making a difference to their own businesses and the industry as a whole.

We believe that by putting employees front and centre businesses can survive, and ultimately thrive. That’s why we’ve launched a call for the Scottish tourism and hospitality sectors to Care to Make a Difference. I’m pleased that peers across the industry have joined me in this campaign: Marc Crothall, chief executive of Scottish Tourism Alliance, (STA); Anna Hirvonen, accreditation officer with Living Wage Scotland; Calum Ross, owner of Loch Melfort Hotel and Marina Huggett, chair of the Achnagairn Estate.

We’re asking the industry across Scotland to come together to strive to improve the situation for everyone involved. This is an industry that spends its life caring for its guests so we know how to make a positive impact.

Our call is for tourism and hospitality businesses to Care to Make a Difference by paying staff well – at least the real Living Wage, which currently stands at £9.90 and become accredited by Living Wage Scotland; offering security, flexibility and value-added benefits to employees; providing mentoring and training to upskill the existing workforce; focusing on the mental health and wellbeing of all colleagues; and taking a long-term approach to sustainability to protect the world for future generations.

The STA’s Marc Crothall warns that the bottom line and harsh reality is there’s just not a big enough pool of people to fill all the roles we have in Scotland. And I agree with his view that that better caring for employees can help change perceptions of what it like to work in tourism.

So, let’s take action now, and Care to Make a Difference to help the tourism and hospitality sectors flourish and make an even bigger contribution to Scottish economy and society.

Andrea Nicholas is chief executive of Green Tourism. See www.green-tourism.com