New coronavirus restrictions will “sound the death knell” for some of Scotland’s hospitality business according to a variety of respected business leaders.
Pubs and restaurants will be closed in five health board areas – Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, Lothian and Ayrshire and Arran – where about 3.4 million people live.
Elsewhere in Scotland, hospitality venues can open inside from 06:00 until 18:00 to sell soft drinks and food, and customers can be served alcohol in outside areas only until 22:00.
Sturgeon has offered £40 million to help but this has been described as an absolute pittance.
Carina Contini, who owns three restaurants in Edinburgh, said the restrictions were a “step too far”.
She said: “Here we go again. We did it in March when we thought that was a once in a lifetime shock to our business, shock to our communities, and you know, are we in a circle of madness? Having to have a 16-day closure, three weekends, significant cashflow implications, but most importantly our team are in shock, we’re in shock.”
Stephen Leckie, who runs the Crieff Hydro hotel, said he had 50 cancellations from customers within an hour following the first minister’s announcement.
Mr Leckie, who is also chair of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said the measures had caused confusion for business owners and customers.
“This industry is in tatters, it’s in trouble and now there’s turmoil. We have questions to ask, many customers are asking questions and are cancelling in their droves.”
Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “These measures will sound the death knell for businesses across the hospitality sector, especially pubs and bars.
“Restaurants and hotels, whilst remaining open, will also be constrained on what they can provide and this will place a large dent in their already reduced income.”
She said redundancies could rise as a result of the measures.
Stephen Montgomery of the Scottish Hospitality Group, which represents several restaurant and bar groups, said: “The first minister has effectively signed a death sentence for many businesses across the Scottish hospitality industry.”
He added there would be a “catastrophic” economic cost.
Shops across Scotland will be asked to return to 2m physical distancing from this weekend, and to reintroduce measures such as one-way systems.
David Lonsdale, Scottish Retail Consortium director, said many businesses would be baffled at the request “in the absence of any evidence which shows shops are a source of infection”.
He added: “These additional restrictions may make it impractical for some to trade at all for this period, and the government must urgently provide details of the proposed support for these viable businesses.”
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