COVID-19 Updates – week commencing 14/06/21
More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance.
Go to date:
14 June 2021 …
Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance update
NI Updates
Visitor Pledge – Diane Dodds has today launched a new Visitor Pledge to encourage safe and responsible tourism across Northern Ireland while supporting local businesses. Visitors are asked to show their support by signing up to the pledge and committing to the three core guidelines
o Take Care of Each Other
o Take Care of the Land
o Take Care of Local Businesses.
Visitors can find out more and sign up to the pledge at Small Steps to a Giant Difference – Discover Northern Ireland. You will also be able to download posters from this link that can be displayed to encourage visitors to sign up.
Green Tourism – Visit Belfast have launched a new partnership between Belfast City Council, Visit Belfast, and Green Tourism to offer a recognised accreditation and support programme for tourism businesses to achieve a Green Tourism Award, improve their sustainability credentials and grow their business. They will be running a virtual event on Tuesday 22 June at 11am discussing how we need to start a regenerative tourism journey, collectively rethinking what a successful tourism destination looks like and how, by working together, we can demonstrate that tourism can be a force for good – contributing not just economically but environmentally and societally. More details at https://visitbelfastpartners.com/sustainable-belfast/?utm_source=Sustainable+Belfast+-+full+invite+list&utm_campaign=4037f74781-sustainable_belfast&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f8f94e6c0d-4037f74781-104724262
Lateral Flow Tests – The travel guidance for people travelling to/returning to Northern Ireland from within the CTA, advise taking a lateral flow test pre-departure and on day 2 and 8 when returning/arriving in NI. Information on how to do a COVID-19 rapid test at home for yourself (or someone else) and report the results is available here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-self-test-help?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=2f79d1a5-1023-40e6-a9b4-983fd7d862bb&utm_content=daily
Vaccination Status Verification – the NHS England has introduced a process for people to request a physical letter stating their vaccination status. This is in addition to the digital version which is currently available through a digital app. We checked with our Department of Health and progress is being made on a new digital Covid (Status) Verification Service for use by residents here, and which will be in line with emerging World Health Organisation and EU standards. The first part of the Service to be delivered is likely to be similar to the NHS issuing of a pdf certificate/letter with the second part an app/online service. Over the next couple of weeks there should be more detail on when this will be available.
Dates for Covid easements
At the NI Executive meeting yesterday, which was the last for First Minister Arlene Foster, Economy Minister Diane Dodds and Education Minister Peter Weir, the Executive signalled their intention to bring in further easements over the next month. These are indicative dates and will continue to be monitored in light of concern with the increase of the Delta variant. These are new easements. On 13th May, the Executive gave the date of 21st June for the return of conferences and exhibitions. We will follow up to confirm if this will be ratified at the review on 17th June. The new decisions from the Executive meeting yesterday are outlined below:-
From 21 June, subject to ratification on 17 June:
- Home and community
o Permit indoor gatherings in a domestic setting of 10 people from no more than two households. If one household has 10 members, the maximum is increased to 15 from no more than two households. (Does not include children 12 and under).
o Permit outdoor gatherings in a domestic setting of 15 people from an unlimited number of households. (Does not include children 12 and under).
o Remove the linked households/bubble provision.
- Outdoor gatherings
o Permit outdoor gatherings to the maximum allowed as per risk assessment for venue across all sectors. Over 30 people must be an organised gathering and would require a risk assessment.
- Close contact services
o Enable close contact services to open without appointments but with remaining mitigations.
- Live music
o In licensed and unlicensed premises which provide or sell food and drink (whether or not including intoxicating liquor) for consumption on the premises, permit live music at background or ambient levels; the volume must be such to enable visitors to conduct conversation at normal loudness of speech. No dancing permitted.
o At outdoor events permit live music and dancing, without restriction to background or ambient levels.
o Permit live music, without restriction to background or ambient levels for rehearsal, recording or performance purposes in concert venues, theatres and other indoor venues which, for the duration of the rehearsal, recording or performance are set aside for that purpose. No dancing for audience but permitted as part of performance.
o Permit live music, without restriction to background or ambient levels for “other indoor venues” – can include a space within larger premises – for example a function room or conference suite within a hotel. In such circumstances access to the venue must be effectively controlled and managed and the venue must be sufficiently isolated from the rest of the premises to ensure that the volume of the music in the venue does not breach ambient or background levels in other parts of the premises. No dancing for audience but permitted as part of performance.
o Entry to performances for audiences will be by ticket only. Tickets must be purchased in advance of the performance. Audiences for indoor events must have allocated seating and must remain seated (unless using facilities).
o Social distancing at a minimum of one metre will be required for live music related activity in indoor seated venues and will be advised for all outdoor events.
o Messaging will be developed around the travel to and from such events to inform the public of the safer options.
From 1 July 2021, subject to ratification on 17 June:
- Education and young people
- A restart of overnight residentials for youth services as part of the continued phased reopening of youth services to facilitate delivery of the summer youth programme as part of the continued phased reopening of youth services.
From 22 July 2021, subject to ratification on 15 July:
- Live music
- Remove any restrictions on live music and dancing in licensed and unlicensed premises which provide or sell food and drink (whether or not including intoxicating liquor) for consumption on the premises.
Tourism Alliance update
Here is a copy of the Tourism Recovery Plan that has just been published, along with a copy of supporting research on tourism recovery scenarios by Oxford Economics.
Having read through the Tourism Recovery Plan, it contains a very good analysis of the importance of tourism to the local and national economies and is extremely comprehensive in pulling together all the initiatives and funding measures that the Government has introduced that support the industry.
The twin targets of the Recovery Plan are to rebuild domestic back to 2019 levels by 2022 and to rebuild inbound tourism back to 2019 levels by 2023 – both of these are one year ahead of Oxford Economic’s forecasts. However, there is surprising little in the way of new announcements supporting these targets.
The main new initiatives are:
- A New Rail Pass
“Working with the Rail Delivery Group, the government and VisitBritain will pursue the development of a new domestic rail tourism product to accelerate the recovery of domestic tourism. Introducing an offer for domestic tourists will encourage sustainable domestic holiday travel and reduce tourism’s reliance on cars. It would build on the success of rail tourism products such as the BritRail pass, which is sold through the VisitBritain Shop and provides international visitors with flexible travel across the network to spread the benefits of tourism across the country, as well as provide discounted attraction entry. The aim is to launch this new domestic rail tourism product later in the year, subject to a successful business case being developed”
- £10m of Tourism Vouchers
“The British Tourist Authority will deliver a £10 million consumer promotion with The National Lottery to support the domestic tourist industry. The initiative will see vouchers, or similar, made available to National Lottery players that will be redeemable at tourist attractions across the UK. The scheme will open in Autumn 2021 to encourage off-season trips in support of the hard-hit domestic tourism sector. Businesses taking part will need to ensure they are using the We’re Good To Go industry standard. More information will be made available later in the year”
- Consultation on Statutory Registration
“The government will also launch a consultation on the introduction of a Tourist Accommodation Registration Scheme in England. A Registration Scheme is one potential route through which to create a data-driven approach, creating an improved national picture of the precise shape of the accommodation landscape which could feed into a wider Data Hub. Any such scheme could encompass the breadth of the sector, from ‘traditional’ accommodation such as hotels and B&Bs to short term lets in the sharing economy and could be used to underpin future government interventions, for example regarding the regulation of the sharing economy. The rise of the sharing economy has and will continue to play an important role in attracting tourists to destinations across the country and contributing to the UK economy. However, it has created concerns about uneven regulatory requirements and negative impacts on local communities compared to other types of accommodation. The government is committed to hearing the views of all interested parties on the merits and drawbacks of a Registration Scheme, and how any potential scheme could be implemented proportionately to avoid placing a significant regulatory burden on the sector or risking a reduction in supply.”
- Sustainable Tourism Plan
“The government will develop a Sustainable Tourism Plan, and put the UK at the forefront of the global discussion on sustainable travel. Domestically, the government will work with industry and the British Tourist Authority to identify achievable ways for the sector to ‘grow back greener’, in ways that will reduce the travel industry’s impact on the natural and built environment, respect local host communities and take their needs into account, and maximise the economic benefits for tourism businesses and their local communities in all regions of the UK. VisitBritain/VisitEngland are working with the tourism sector to celebrate and amplify best practice, and to coordinate an industry response that promotes the UK as a leader in sustainable tourism and puts the UK’s natural landscapes and communities at the heart of the country’s brand proposition.”
- Inclusivity Roundtables and Ambassador
“The Minister for Tourism will hold a series of roundtables with stakeholders from across the tourism industry to better understand the barriers holding back participation in tourism. These roundtables will be themed around issues such as guest accommodation, transportation, attractions, working with customers and skills. The aim is to establish a clear baseline of where the UK is in terms of inclusive tourism, and to come up with a series of concrete actions that the government can pursue to make a meaningful difference, above and beyond existing activity.
Later this year, the government’s intention is to recruit a new disability and access ambassador for tourism. The selected individual will promote best practice, help identify ongoing barriers and contribute to strategic thinking around how to improve accessibility in the sector.”
- Ministerial Advocacy For Business Events
“The UK government will also enhance its Ministerial advocacy programme. The Events Industry Board notes that advocacy is critical to winning international business events. As such, UK government Ministers will commit to delivering keynote speeches on a regular basis at international business events held in the UK. The government will also work with GREAT and VisitBritain to designate sector-specific UK-wide events ambassadors, who will promote the UK as a location for, and advocate for, events in key industries and sectors. These ambassadors will be pre-eminent and high profile in their field, helping the UK win, grow or retain events that showcase the UK on a global stage and drive growth in strategically important industries. To drive forward these commitments, the government has created a cross-Whitehall group of senior officials in key government departments with an interest in growth and business events. This group will be tasked with developing a target list of international business events for the government to focus on bringing to – and retaining in – the UK, and developing a plan to host them here.”
It will also:
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- Produce a strategy for sustainable business events, including a blueprint for how to hold more sustainable, low carbon international business events
- Assess gaps in business events venue provision, both in terms of regional ‘cold spots’ and whether the UK has the right variety of venues to support its international competitiveness in hosting 21st century business events.
- Identify the skills and capacity gaps that have emerged as a result of both the pandemic’s impact on the workforce, and of structural changes to the industry.
To implement that Recovery Plan, a new inter-Ministerial group for Tourism is being established. It will be chaired by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and supported by the Minister for Tourism.
The group will meet four times a year and will ensure the plan is delivered. Two new cross-government working groups of lead officials will also be set up underneath this, meeting more regularly and ensuring rapid, effective progress – one to lead on business events, and the other on the tourism sector more broadly. The government will also provide the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee with an annual update on the progress of the plan and the tourism industry more generally as it recovers, with the first update in 2022.
- DWP Invitation to Kickstart Seminar
I’ve been talking to DWP today regarding the staffing shortage and they are keen to engage with businesses and support them through the Kickstart initiative. They have a seminar coming up on the scheme next Tuesday and all businesses are welcome to sign up to this to learn how they can use kickstart to fill vacancies – the invitation to the seminar is attached.
If your members are unable to attend the event on Tuesday 15th of June, they can still use the same email address and request details of future events, or register interest for any future Leisure, Hospitality & Tourism specific events. If there is significant demand, it is a possibility that another sector-specific event could be arranged.
- Change in Kickstart Terms and Conditions
Staying with the Kickstart scheme, there are new terms and conditions for the scheme which come into effect on 21st June. Here is a link to the new document.
- Demonstrating Covid Status
The guidance on demonstrating your Covid status when travelling overseas has been amended with a new section on what to do if you can’t get a post-vaccination letter. However, this guidance simply says that if you cannot be provided with a letter there may be some information that is either missing or incorrect. If this is the case, they will write to inform you if this is the case.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/demonstrating-your-covid-19-vaccination-status-when-travelling-abroad
- Guidance or Visa Applicants Updated
The Home Office has updated the guidance for visa applicants to say that UKVI will continue to accept applications for visitor visas from red, amber and green countries. Issuing applications from red list countries will be paused until travel restrictions are lifted.
People who need to travel urgently to the UK for compassionate reasons will still need to apply for a visa in the usual way, including submitting biometrics at a Visa Application Centre. They should clearly explain the compelling or compassionate reasons for their visit in the application form and alert the VAC staff during biometric submission. They will then be contacted by UKVI once their application has been received.
If they do not hear from UKVI or the request is exceptionally urgent, they can also contact UK Visas and Immigration for help ( this is a chargeable service for overseas customers).
- Renew London conference – 10.00 -11.30am, 13th July 2021
The Tourism Alliance is supporting London First’s Work, Live, Play virtual session on how to unlock Central London’s recovery. London’s tourism and hospitality economy has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic so this event will bring together London’s hospitality, tourism and retail sectors along with local and national government for a series of bite-sized virtual sessions to reimagine a sustainable post pandemic way to work, live and play in the city:
- Work: With a hybrid and more flexible approach to office working here to stay, what does this means for footfall and how must London’s transport network respond?
- Live: How is the cultural sector viewing recovery, and what challenges and opportunities will this sector have as it builds back from the pandemic?
- Play: London’s tourism offer is firm favourite with international visitors, but what are the timescales for getting tourists from near and afar back to our capital? How soon can the sector bounce back and drive economic recovery?
The event will also bring in insights from local and national government. Leave this very timely conference inspired and equipped with a pan-London view on how our capital city can recover from the pandemic, reembracing all that makes it special.
The event takes place on 13 July at 10am and places are free of charge for all delegates joining these virtual sessions. You can book to attend using the following link:
https://eu.eventscloud.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=200223971&categoryid=201747297
- R Number and Growth Rate
This week’s R Number and Growth rate are, respectively, 1.2 to 1.4 and +3% to +6%. This is up significantly from is 1.0 to 1.2 and 0% to +3% last week so it doesn’t bode well for next week’s announcement on moving to Step 4 on 21st June.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-r-value-and-growth-rate
15 June 2021 …
Tourism Alliance update:
Feedback On Recovery Plan and Delay
There is a Tourism Industry Council meeting this Wednesday at 1:30pm at which we will be discussing the Tourism Recovery Plan and the impact on the tourism industry of the Prime Minister’s announcement on the delay in moving to Step 4 in the roadmap. If you have any feedback on either of these two issues, please let me know and I will consolidate it and feed it into the meeting.
Kickstart Guidance Video
The Guidance on the Kickstart Scheme has bee updated to include a link to a new video aimed at providing businesses with a walk-through on how to apply to employ someone through the scheme.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-kickstart-scheme-grant#how-to-apply-1
The video itself, which is well worth sending to your members, is available on the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sKvsT4CBMw&ab_channel=DepartmentforWorkandPensions%28DWP%29
Further Support for Businesses in Wales
The Welsh Economy Minister has confirmed further support for businesses impacted by phased move to alert level 1. Businesses in Wales materially affected by the phased move to alert level 1, such as indoor attractions and wedding venues, will receive £2.5 million in further support. Support will be available for businesses that have capacity for events of more than 30 people indoors or in contained spaces and to businesses that are still closed because of ongoing restrictions.
To receive the funding, businesses will need to have applied to the Welsh Government’s latest round of emergency funding, the deadline for which has been extended until 12pm Wednesday 16 June 2021.
Eligible applicants will automatically receive the top-up where possible, or will be required to self-declare via a simple online process. Details are available on the Business Wales website
https://fundchecker.businesswales.gov.wales/businesssupport
16 June 2021 …
Tourism Alliance updates:
Welcome Back Fund
MHCLG has published a new version of the guidance on the Welcome Back fund. This is a £56m ERDF fund available to local authorities in England to support the return to high streets safely and help build back better. This builds on the £50m Reopening High Street Safely Fund (RHSSF) allocated to councils in 2020. Part of the fund will be used to provide support for coastal resorts across England to
support areas as they prepare for a great summer to safely welcome visitors. The fund can also be used by local authorities to:
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- Boost the look and feel of their high streets by investing in street planting, parks, green spaces, and seating areas to make high streets welcoming.
- Run publicity campaigns and prepare to hold events that will boost footfall and encourage people back into the high streets and thereby supporting local businesses.
- Install and refresh signage and floor markings to encourage social distancing and safety.
- Improve green spaces on high streets and town centres by planting flowers or removing graffiti
Accompanying the guidance is a FAQ which provides more detail on what initiatives are eligible and how the
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welcome-back-fund
TIC Agenda
As I mentioned previously, the Tourism Industry Council meeting with the Minister is tomorrow at 1:30pm. DCMS has sent through the following questions that they are seeking input on:
Step 4 Announcement
- What is the impact of the delay to Step 4 on your part of the sector?
- What is your key concern over the upcoming four week period?
- Have you already received, or are you anticipating visitor cancellations or postponements?
- Do the concessions relating to weddings and out-of-school residential stays make a difference?
- What are your concerns for the longer term, post summer?
Covid-19 Insight Session
- What measures have been the most and the least challenging for the sector to manage? (social distancing, Test & Trace, capacity caps, etc)
- How have consumers responded to the various measures? Have rates of adherence been high?
- Has the sector developed innovations beyond the government-mandated measures to make their businesses Covid-Secure?
- Do you have any other views of the government and industry response to the pandemic over the past 12 months?
Tourism Recovery Plan
- Do you have views on the content of the Plan?
- Are there particular commitments in the Plan on which you are interested in engaging with the team?
If you can provide me with comments on any of these questions by noon tomorrow, I will feed them in.
Petition On School Trips From the EU
The youth & educational travel sector brings over £20 billion p.a. to the UK. Bookings for next year are falling whilst demand for countries which allow ID cards, such as Ireland and Denmark, is soaring. This means that the UK risks losing its place at the top of the educational tourism market with associated impact on jobs. This will also impact the UK tourism industry in the long-run as adults tend to revisit destinations that they went to in their youth.
Therefore, could I ask you to circulate this petition to your members to sign in order to raise awareness of the value of this market and the impact that requiring children from the EU to have passports to enter the UK will have on the UK tourism industry.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/587749
New Lords Briefing on Tourism
Ahead of the Lords Debate on Tourism next week (24th June), the Lords Library has produced a new tourism briefing on how the sector has been affected, and the Government’s response, including the Tourism Recovery Plan. It is worth reading this briefing as it will be one of the key documents that shapes the members of the House of Lords views on the sector. It is also worth noting that the briefing continues to use the highly inaccurate figures from ONS’s Tourism Satellite Accounts to provide an assessment of the sectors contribution to the UK economy in terms of GVA and employment. As an example, the TSA calculates that only 52% of the revenue generated by Travel Agents is related to tourism and that only 0.9% of revenue from the conference and exhibition sector is related to business tourism.
https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/promoting-tourism-in-the-uk/
Guidance on Volunteers
DCMS says that it has revised its guidance to businesses that employ volunteers to bring it into line with the current restrictions but, reading through it, I’m struggling to see what the changes are. It may well be that they have just updated links to other guidance such as travel restrictions or CJRS. However, if you employ volunteers, it is worth reading the updated guidance to make sure that you are complying with all requirements.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/enabling-safe-and-effective-volunteering-during-coronavirus-covid-19
Domestic Cruises
The guidance on domestic cruises has been updated to signal that it expects to remove all capacity limits for domestic cruises on 19th July.
Roadmap step 4
It is expected that England will move to Step 4 on 19 July, though the data will be reviewed after 2 weeks in case the risks have reduced.
By step 4, the government hopes to remove all legal limits on social contact. This includes lifting capacity limits for domestic cruises.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-cruise-ship-travel
- Further Update to What You Can And Cannot Do Guidance
There has been a further update to the pubic guidance on yesterday’s announcement that I sent you this morning. The revision provides a bit more detail to the public on the rules and restrictions relate to weddings in an outdoor environment.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do
