A report from the All Party Parliamentary group, researched and written by UK Hospitality who provide the secretariat for the Group, has been published. It highlights the scale of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and outlines a series of recommendations to help businesses recover.
Points made in the Executive Summary include:
- The hospitality and tourism sectors were extremely vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19 virus and have been hit particularly hard, with 89% of these businesses operating at a significantly reduced level or closed.
- Tourism is unlikely to rebound quickly. It is imperative that Government consider that businesses within the tourism sector will likely miss the majority of their peak season in 2020.
- It is a necessity that Government support continues until businesses are able to trade at a sustainable level.
- The CJRS is paramount to business survival, but many businesses will be unable to pay a portion of staff costs from August. It is imperative that existing levels of support continue until these businesses are able to re-open at a level that would enable them to break even.
- When looking at reopening, it is essential that businesses in tourism sector are looked at flexibly – some may be able to reopen quicker than others by adhering to the likely social distancing measures that will be imposed.
- Government is reviewing the current 2m social distancing guidance.
- Businesses still require more information from Government regarding the necessary stops required to keep staff and customers safe.
- The tourism sector will need Government support if it is to rebound quickly.