05.08.2020
Two new funding packages, worth £15 million, have been announced to support Scotland’s tourism sector as it continues to feel the impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Together with the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC), we’re delighted to announce a new £1 million Scottish Government grant available for self-catering businesses in Scotland. This new fund has been made available to help alleviate the hardship some self-catering businesses are facing.
The fund will be made available for businesses who haven’t received any support via other funds as a result of the current pandemic. Applicants will be eligible to receive a one-off grant of £10,000.
Applications for the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) Support Scheme for Self-Catering businesses, which we (VisitScotland) will administer, will go live on Monday 3 August at 9am.
To check if your business meets the criteria, and to provide businesses with time to prepare the information required to fully complete their application, we’ve provided guidelines which you can access now. Successful applicants will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.
A new support mechanism to help safeguard jobs at larger hotels – called the Hotel Recovery Programme – will open before the end of August 2020. The £14 million Hotel Recovery Programme consists of grant funding from the Scottish Government, plus bespoke packages of wrap-around business support provided by Scotland’s enterprise agencies and their partners.
The core purpose of the Hotel Recovery Programme is to help to secure up to 3,000 jobs at larger hotels until the start of the summer 2021 tourism season. The programme will offer financial support of up to £250,000 per hotel property.
This is a programme – not just a fund. Successful applicants will be offered bespoke packages of wrap-around support from the most appropriate agencies. The programme will be jointly run by Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise and VisitScotland.
The agencies will work with Skills Development Scotland and local authorities where appropriate to put together an integrated and tailored plan that will help companies build a sustainable future that protects local jobs.
The Enterprise Agencies (Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise and VisitScotland) will begin taking expressions of interest for the Hotel Recovery Programme in late August.
This is welcome news for the tourism and events industry which saw the announcement of £10 million funding to support the event sector at the weekend.
In May, a £145 million hardship and resilience support package to support small and medium-sized businesses was launched, there was also a £500,000 fund for the tourism and destination sector and in June, a £3 million B&B Bed and Breakfast Hardship Fund launched.
You can keep up with the latest updates on Visit Scotland’s coronavirus information page specifically on financial support.
