COVID-19 Updates – week commencing 15/02/21
More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance.
Go to date:
15 February 2021 …
Tourism Society:
Join the Tourism Society for their 2nd session in the “Big Thinkers in Tourism” series at 1 pm on 16 February when the Shadow Minister for Tourism and Heritage gives you his views on how tourism could be helped to recover and rebuild for the next decade and takes your questions.
Alex Sobel has represented Leeds North West in Parliament since 2017 and was appointed the Shadow Minister of Tourism and Heritage in 2019. He is responsible for developing Labour’s domestic tourism policies and has been working to ensure the Government respond adequately to the unique challenges the sector is facing as a result of the pandemic. Alex believes that tourism and heritage could play a crucial role in a driving a green recovery from covid-19.
And save the dates for the rest of The Tourism Society Big Thinkers in Tourism series where their speakers tackle the future of tourism this decade:
24 February – 12 pm: A heart to heart interview with travel superstar Gloria Guevara, President and CEO of WTTC. You can book your places here
10 March – 12 pm: Graham Donoghue CEO of Sykes Cottages the UK’s largest self catering operator gives his predictions for future trends in the accommodation sector this decade. You can book your places here!
Tourism Alliance updates:
Quarantine Portal Now Open
The portal where passengers arriving in the UK that need to book accommodation and book testing. Here is a link to the portal itself with all the lists to separate booking and booking management sites
https://quarantinehotelbookings.ctmportal.co.uk/
Here is a link to the Quarantine Hotel Booking Site itself
https://quarantinehotels.ctmportal.co.uk/
And here is the link to the booking site for the two tests (this is only for people not staying in a quarantine hotel as the tests are included in the hotel package)
https://quarantinehotels.ctmportal.co.uk/Quarantine/Home.aspx
Social Impacts of Coronavirus
ONS’s weekly survey of public perceptions of coronavirus seems to be starting to reflect the roll-out of the vaccine with the proportion of adults who felt that it will take more than a year for life to return to normal felling slightly this week (down from 29% to 27%). There was also a corresponding increase in the number of people who feel life will return to normal with six months ( from 17% to 21% this week) but it should be noted that the number of people who are “pessimistic” still outnumber those that are “optimistic”.
CMA Threatens Last Minuste.com With Court Action
The CMA has publicly warned Lastminute.com that it will take them to court if the company does not refund £1 million to 2,600 customers who’s holidays were cancelled due to coronavirus. The CMA had previous reach an agreement with LastMinute.com that all customers would be refunded by 30 January and ongoing complains that the company was still now repaying all customers entitled to a refund within 14 days of their package holiday being cancelled.
This warning highlights the CMAs’ increasingly tough stance on companies selling package holidays and will increase public expectation that all tourism businesses will provide a full refund on bookings that are impacted by coronavirus. As such, with people starting to book for summer, it emphasises the need for businesses to have customer focused refund policies that are clearly communicated to customers before they book.
New £20 million SME Brexit Support Fund
The Government has announced a new £20 million SME Brexit Support Fund to help small businesses adjust to new customs procedures, rules of origin, and VAT rules when trading with the EU. This fund offers up to £2,000 for business with up to 500 employees, and no more than £100 million annual turnover who trade with the EU.
The eligibility criteria are that the business must:
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- be established in the UK
- have been established in the UK for at least 12 months before submitting the application, or currently hold Authorised Economic Operator status
- not have previously failed to meet its tax or customs obligations
- have no more than 500 employees
- have no more than £100 million turnover
- import or export goods between Great Britain and the EU, or moves goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Businesses can use the grant for training on:
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- how to complete customs declarations
- how to manage customs processes and use customs software and systems
- specific import and export related aspects including VAT, excise and rules of origin
- professional advice so the business can meet its customs, excise, import VAT or safety and security declaration requirements.
Applications for the fund are not yet open but when they are they will be on this link
£17.5m for Events Sector in Scotland
The Scottish Government has announced the provision of another £17.5m businesses in the events sector including freelance workers. Of that, £8.5 million will go towards the events sector – distributed through the Pivotal Event Businesses Fund and the Events Industry Support Fund 2 as well as targeted support. The remaining £9 million will be distributed as a top-up to the Creative Freelancers Hardship Fund bringing the total value of support for creative freelancers to £17 million.
https://www.gov.scot/news/support-for-freelancers-and-the-events-sector/
16 February 2021 …
Tourism Alliance updates:
Impact of Covid on Travel and Tourism
ONS has published a report on the impact of Covid on the tourism industry that brings together a range of date over different time periods. The main findings of the report are:
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- Monthly air passenger arrivals to the UK fell from 6,804,900 in February 2020 to 112,300 in April 2020, a fall of 98.3%.
- Greater London saw the largest fall in room occupancy of any English region from 2019 to 2020, with just 20% of rooms occupied in July 2020 compared with 90% in the same month in 2019.
- Accommodation and travel agency businesses saw the sharpest decline in turnover during the first national lockdown, falling to 9.3% of their February levels in May 2020.
- The proportion of businesses in travel and tourism industries trading peaked at 85% in October 2020, before declining in response to increasing restrictions in November.
- In the three months to June 2020, employment in accommodation for visitors fell by 21.5% compared with the same three months of 2019.
- In travel and tourism industries overall, the number of people aged 16 to 24 years saw the largest fall in employment of any age group between Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2019 and Quarter 3 2020.
Quarantine Hotels and Testing
With the implementation of the new testing and quarantine regime for people entering England today, there are a few details that are worth being aware of
Who needs to Quarantine
There seems to be some confusion on who needs to quarantine.
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- DCMS have informed me that if there is a flight from a non- Red List Country (say Spain) which has someone on board that has been in a Red List country within the last 10 days, then it’s only that person that needs to use a quarantine hotel.
- However, they are also saying that if a flight from a non Red List country stops over in a Red List country, then everyone on board needs to use a quarantine hotel
Personally, I’m struggling to see the difference between 2 Red List people getting on a plane in a non Red List country and 2 red list people getting on a plane from a non Red List Country when it travels through a Red List country so I’ve asked DCMS to check this as it will impact flights through airports like Dubai.
Transiting airside through the UK
People transiting through the UK who stay airside do not need undertake a do not need to show a passenger locator form or pre departure test as they will will not pass through the UK border.
Exemptions from Testing
Bus and coach drivers are exempt from testing if they can to show that their travel is part of their job, for example a letter from your employer, a consignment note or your operator’s licence. This applies to drivers of public service vehicles and other employees of community licence holders for the international carriage of passengers by coach and bus.
Aircraft pilots and crew as defined in paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Air Navigation Order 2016(h), where such crew have travelled to the UK in the course of their work
What to Expect in Quarantine
The Government has published detailed guidance from people having to stay in a quarantine hotel as to what to expect during their stay and when they can leave.
ALVA Sentiment Tracker
Here is a copy of the latest wave of ALVA’s Customer sentiment Survey. The main findings of which are:
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- Confidence around visiting attractions is now more polarised compared with the first lockdown – whilst more will return quickly, there has been even greater growth in the segment unlikely to visit for a long time
- Around 40% feel less positive about visiting than they did during the first lockdown (18% feel more positive), with the impact of the virus now feeling greater for many – high infection rates, new variants etc.
- Concerns around distancing remain the focal point – pre-visit reassurance around limiting capacity (via pre-booking) and the ability to control distancing in practice will continue to be vital. The market is now much more accepting of mandatory mask wearing
- But when re-opening again, we need to remember that there are growing numbers who are questioning the value of the experience – we need to try to offer as full / normal a visit as possible
- With that in mind, it is important to note that anxiety around using facilities at attractions, while still high for many indoor facilities, is easing slightly – apart from interactives and audio guides
- The advent of vaccines is beginning to have some positive impact upon attraction visiting prospects, although this will be limited until the market feels that rollout to the wider population is complete
- In the short term, the impact of the vaccine is mainly in encouraging the fearful to at least consider a visit – moving people from ‘unlikely to visit for a long time’ to ‘wait and see what happens for a short while’
- Attractions are unlikely to see short term rapid increases in visits driven by a vaccination rollout – the impact of having the first vaccine dose increases the proportion saying they will visit any attraction from 44% to 48%, although the impact is greater (+7%) among those aged 55 or over
18 February 2021 …
Tourism Alliance update:
Clarification on Who’s Banned from Travel to the UK
The Government has amended statements that it has made regarding who is banned entry into the UK under the new quarantine regime. Previous statements had been that only UK residents were able to travel to the UK from Red List countries. The new guidance is that British or Irish nationals or those with UK residency rights are able to travel to the UK from Red List countries
Asking HMRC Not to Publish CJRS Details
HMRC have published an amendment to the guidance on businesses making requests to HMRC that they do not publish details of their furlough claims after complaints from businesses that requests could only be made by the company rather than by their accountants who handle CJRS claim processing. As a result, the updated guidance is that agents can make requests on behalf of the businesses that they represent.
Here is a link to the updated guidance where businesses (and their agents) can submit a request.
Support for Self-Catering and B&Bs in Scotland
The Scottish Government has introduced a new package of sector specific support to help the following accommodation businesses closed or impacted by current protective measures.
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- Large self-catering properties
- Self-catering businesses are eligible if they have a property which accommodates 7 or more people for which they pay Non Domestic Rates. The number of bed spaces will be linked to records held by Rates Assessors. The large self-catering grant will make one off payments of £2,000 available to eligible applicants.
- Exclusive use properties that provide accommodation
- Exclusive use properties that provide accommodation are eligible for one off grants of £10,000, if they pay Non Domestic Rates and have been evaluated by the Scottish Assessors Association as an Exclusive Use Venue providing overnight accommodation,
- B&Bs paying Council Tax
- B&Bs paying Council Tax will get equivalent support – comprising £2,000 for every 4 weeks of Level 4 restrictions.
- Large self-catering properties
Scottish Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Project Fund
Staying with Scotland, the Government has also launched the Scottish Zoo and Aquarium Project Fund which is up to £400,000 for businesses experiencing financial hardship which is affecting your conservation projects. The eligibility criteria are:
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- the project is for the conservation benefit of native Scottish species
- the project is for promoting or developing understanding of scientific matters
- all reasonable actions have been taken to minimise costs while maintaining conservation project objectives such as the coronavirus job retention scheme, business rates holiday, tax deferral, statutory sick pay rebate, etc
- the project has budget monitoring and forecasting
- the organisation is in possession of a current full licence or dispensation under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, or have been inspected and granted an exemption under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 due to your small size
£650m in Support for Wales
Westminster has allocated an additional £650 million to the Welsh Government to support people, businesses and public services affected by coronavirus. The Welsh Government will be able to carry over any of the £650 million not spent this year into the 2021/22 financial year in order to provide continuing support.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-650-million-funding-boost-for-covid-19-response-in-wales
Kick Start Brand Guidelines
Those businesses that have been approved funding for taking on an unemployed young worker through the Kick Start scheme are allowed to use the Kick Start branding to advertise that they are part of this initiative. The branding and the guidelines for using it are on the following list.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/kickstart-scheme-employer-resources
Scottish Reopening
While the focus is on the Government’s reopening roadmap being announced on Monday, it is worth noting that the Scottish Government has announced that it is currently preparing a revised strategic framework, which will set out in much more detail when and how the country might gradually emerge from this lockdown. It is hoped that the new strategic framework will be published next week (probably Tuesday). The framework will:
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- set out as far as possible the conditions that we think need to be met, in terms of the data, for us to start lifting restrictions.
- detail the broad order of priority for re-opening, including what a return to a geographic levels approach might look like in due course.
- try to be clear about what the government doesn’t think will be possible for a while longer.
- advise against booking Easter holidays, either overseas or within Scotland, as it is highly unlikely that we will have been able to fully open hotels or self catering accommodation by then
The First Minister, in making this announcement stated that, for the summer, it is still highly unlikely that overseas holidays will be possible or advisable. However, staycations within Scotland might be allowed by then depending on the data nearer the time.
In Wales, the publication of a reopening strategy has yet to be announced by First Minister Mr Drakeford has said that discussions are being held with tourism and hospitality leaders in Wales about the possibility of opening up around Easter and that Wales would implement a process of slowly moving down the alert levels.
Testing for Coach Drivers travelling to certain countries
The government has updated the guidance on testing for truck and coach drivers which includes a list of locations where they can take a COVID-19 test, which they currently need to travel to the following countries:
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- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Netherlands
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/haulier-advice-site-locations
