Only one in three Scottish visitor attractions set to reopen

Only a third of Scotland’s visitor attractions are likely to be able to open their doors when the tourism industry is due to reopen in the middle of next month, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing restrictions, industry leaders have revealed.

The National Trust for Scotland has announced that Newhailes in East Lothian is due to remain closed until 2021.

Nearly half of the nation’s museums, galleries, castles and palaces may have to be “mothballed” completely until 2021, according to the findings of a survey of operators.

Concerns over the cost of new health and hygiene measures, reduced capacities and an expected huge reduction in the number of overseas visitors are thought to have made reopening of many sites financially unviable.

Up to 2,000 jobs are believed to be at risk across the country this year due to the impact of the three-month lockdown and the difficulties in reopening up sites.

The Bannockburn battlefield visitor attraction could remain closed until 2022.

Research conducted since tourism minister Fergus Ewing announced the reopening date for the industry has revealed widespread concerns about attractions having to operate as “loss-making enterprises” if they do reopen this summer.

The survey by the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) found that just 31 per cent of its members were planning to reopen by 15 July.

Nearly two thirds of attractions surveyed said they would not be able to achieve 40 per cent of their normal capacity if the current social distancing restrictions remain in place.

The survey also found that 89 per cent of operators of attractions may have to take further cost-cutting measures this year.

New guidelines for the tourism industry published last week by the Scottish Government suggest that attractions consider altering their normal opening hours to help manage crowd numbers and draw up new traffic management plans to allow visitors to queue in car parks.

The guidance states that screens should be installed at till points and reception desks. Attractions have also been told not to offer self-service or buffet counters.

ASVA chief executive Gordon Morrison said: “Whilst we have warmly welcomed the announcement that Scotland is moving into phase two of the recovery plan, and we have an indicative date of 15 July for the reopening of the industry, our survey shows that many attractions will simply not be in a position to open their doors at this time.

“The combination of physical distancing of two metres, the increased cost of operating attractions, the lack of any kind of international audience and the potential for a curtailed domestic audience, particularly at indoor sites, mean that our members are facing up to an uncertain future in the short to medium term.

“The reduction of physical distancing restrictions from two metres to one metre would ensure that it would be possible for many more of our venues to open both safely and economically sustainably, resulting in many jobs being saved and many great people being retained in our industry.

“Whilst we firmly support the Scottish Government in its science-led approach and safety-first plan, we feel now is the time to reassess the current distancing rules and help our industry warmly welcome visitors once again.”

A spokesman for Glasgow Life, which runs attractions like Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on behalf of the city council, said: “Glasgow Life is one of Scotland’s largest charities, and Covid-19 has had a considerable impact on our operations to the extent that the financial and staffing constraints we’re now facing are unprecedented.

“We have nearly 1,000 employees on furlough, and many more with shielding, underlying health or childcare issues; further reducing our staff availability. While the government’s job retention scheme will hopefully provide some financial relief, it will not compensate fully for the significant losses we’re anticipating this financial year, which will run to tens of millions of pounds.

“Glasgow City Council has agreed to support us financially to ensure our long-term sustainability and we’re doing all we can to mitigate these losses, including engaging fully in a number of national and local recovery forums to map a way forward.

“However, the impact of Covid-19 means that we will have to review and prioritise which venues and services we can restart or reopen and when. We will be working in partnership with the council to do this over the weeks and months to come.

“But there are no easy solutions and it is very unlikely that Glasgow Life will be able to return to anything like its normal service provision in the near future.

“We will continue to put the safety of the public and our staff at the forefront of any decisions we take and we will share more details about what we expect will be a phased approach to the reopening of some of our services and venues in due course.”

A spokeswoman for Historic Environment Scotland said: ‘We’re currently working through what reopening will look like across the scope and scale of our estate, in line with Scottish Government guidance.”

A spokesman for the National Galleries of Scotland said: “There is a lot of work involved in reopening safely for our staff and the public and we have not yet set target dates for this for any of our sites”.

A spokesman for VisitScotland said: “As the industry prepares for the potential reopening on 15 July, we continue to offer advice and support in ensuring all businesses, including attractions, which are able to open can do so in a safe and responsible manner.

“Our Getting Tourism Ready campaign, which we have just launched to support the guidance issued by the government, provides advice developed by sectoral groups and representative bodies to help businesses prepare, while our initial marketing will be aimed at encouraging Scots to explore their local area.

“The tourism industry wants to open up as soon as possible but they are taking a responsible attitude to ensuring that this is done in a safe way.”

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