The first weekend of enforcement of Scotland’s vaccine passport scheme was an “unmitigated disaster” according to the nightclub industry.
Venue staff refused entry to revellers without vaccine passports more than 550 times, and some staff were abused, the Scottish Hospitality Group said.
It said some venues decided to close early and footfall was down by up to 40%.
The Scottish government said the scheme was a “proportionate” health measure.
Ministers say it will encourage more people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and ensure late-night venues can remain open during a “potentially very difficult” winter.
The vaccine certification scheme was introduced on 1 October but there was no enforcement during a 17-day “grace period” as venues adjusted to the new requirements.
The Scottish Hospitality Group said:
“The Scottish Hospitality Group has been warning the government for weeks that their vaccine passports scheme is not ready – but the government’s attitude has been to tell us to ‘get on with it’ whilst offering no safety net of support for businesses or our hard working staff,” spokesperson Stephen Montgomery said:
“The experience of this weekend shows that the result has been intolerable levels of abuse of our staff, and the creation of an atmosphere that will totally undermine anyone’s enjoyment of our night-time venues.”
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