Scottish coach industry on brink of collapse, warns union

The Scottish coach industry is on brink of a complete collapse, a union which represents a host of coach companies has warned.

On Friday evening, the Specialist Leisure Group fell into administration, taking with it coach holiday brands Shearings and National Holidays, along with Glasgow-based travel company Caledonian Travel.

The move has left 2500 people out of work, and is believed to have affected around 69,000 customers.

Now, the CMT Union has warned the Scottish coach sector is "in a perilous position", as hundreds of Scottish coach operators fight to stay in business amid the Covid-19 crisis.

Scots-based tour operator Caledonian Travel has closed down.

CMT Union has said the coach industry has failed to receive adequate support since it doesn’t fit into any one category.

Paul White, director of CMT Scotland, said: “I think it would be fair to say the coach sector is in a perilous position at the moment.

“We have lots of family businesses spanning back generations falling between the cracks of support which is offered to traditional bus services.

“At the moment we have an industry which is not really receiving sector specific support and has seen a complete wipe-out of its likely revenue from the summer season.

He added: “Operators are now looking at what is effectively an 18-month winter season, leaving them in a very precarious situation.

“Some operators I’m speaking to are planning to completely mothball their business and hope to start again in a few years time.”

Seven hotels in Scotland run by Country Living Hotels have also gone out of business due to parent company Specialist Leisure Group collapsing into administration.

The venues are: the Bay Highland Hotel in Strathpeffer; Bay Great Western Hotel in Oban; Bay Tarbet Hotel at Loch Lomond; Bay Caledonian Hotel in Fort William; Bay Waverley Castle Hotel in Melrose; Pitlochry Hydro Hotel in Perthshire; and Portpatrick Hotel in Dumfries and Galloway.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director