Hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, businesses in the region’s hospitality and leisure sector are fighting back by adapting and innovating. We look at some of the difficulties they face as the UK reopens and the changes they’ve made to attract customers back
News that the much-anticipated ‘Freedom Day’ removal of restrictions had been delayed by four weeks from June to July was met with frustration and an air of resignation in the hospitality and leisure sector.
After all, many businesses had already gone through the bitter experience of an unexpected shift in coronavirus rules that had closed them down last Christmas. As we go to press, the removal of restrictions is still due on 19 July.
Reaction to the latest unwelcome setback to normality was summed up testily by Dr Roger Barker, director of policy at the Institute of Directors: “Clearly this is a blow for many businesses, particularly those in the retail and hospitality sectors. We are now approaching a cliff edge, with government support for business ending or beginning to taper off.”
A heavy cost – and still counting
The Covid-19 pandemic is reckoned to have cost the hospitality sector £80.8 billion in lost sales in a 12-month period, according to trade body UKHospitality. That equates to a 64% drop in the year to the end of March 2021 compared with the previous 12 months.
“Hospitality can help power the national economic recovery,” pointed out Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality. “To do this, we need to operate without the stranglehold of restrictions, and for the Government to work with the sector on a recovery plan.”
Patchy government support hasn’t helped
The government’s support for the sector has been a particular bone of contention. Andy Tucker, general manager at Alton-based wildlife holiday specialists Naturetrek, summed up the mood: “The Government has let us down badly. There was no specific help for the outbound travel industry, which has been one of the hardest hit. With announcements every few weeks, we are living month to month, not knowing what is going to happen.”
The furlough scheme, however, has clearly been a vital support for many. Allen Main, general manager at Waterside Holiday Group, which operates holiday parks in the south, said: “The furlough scheme helped us and we appreciate it. We learned a lot from the first and second lockdowns and used furlough less later on so that we had more people in to maintain park standards for when we re-opened.”
Waterside’s transformed open-air Shack bar Reopening for business
hospitality & leisure
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