Tourism Alliance Update – 25 February

  • ONS Data On Financial Impact For Business Rate Fund Applications

In December the Government launched a £1.5bn Business Rates Fund to be distributed by Local Authorities to those businesses most impacted by Covid but not eligible for the Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief.

In order to help applications by tourism businesses not eligible for the Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief such as tour operators, travel agents, coach operators, conference organisers and support businesses, English Language Schools and Guides I’ve been working with ONS to produce financial impact data for these businesses using the same methodology used in Business Rates Fund guidance for councils.

This data has now been published and shows that:

  • 8.2% of all businesses in the UK are suffering from a revenue decline of 50%+
  • 12.2% of all hospitality and tourism business are suffering from a revenue decline of 50%+
  • 16.2% of businesses in the coaching, language school and events support sectors are suffering a revenue decline of 50%+
  • 66.9% of tour operators, travel agents and guiding services are suffering a revenue decline of 50%+

There is, therefore, a very clear case for councils to prioritise the allocation of Business Rates Funding to these businesses.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/output/adhocs/14334wave49bicsadhoctablesrequestedbytourismalliance
  • Updated PTR Infographic

Click here for an updated version of the PTR infographic that highlights the benefits of amending to support the rebuilding of the Domestic Tourism Industry. Now that we have left the EU, there is a simple amendment that would both support domestic tourism businesses working together to provide discounted offers to customers while at the same time protect people undertaking package holidays. It would also support DMOs by enabling them to work with their members to create and sell special deals that supported their marketing campaigns. If you need a larger briefing on this issue, just let me know.

  • Guidance For Transport Operators Updated

The Government has updated the guidance for transport operators on what they can do to keep customers and staff safe from coronavirus now that restrictions have been removed.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-transport-guidance-for-operators
  • R Number and Growth Rate

This week’s R Number and Growth Rate are, respectively, 0.7 to 1.0 and -4% to -1%. This is the same as last week and indicates that the number of cases is continuing to decline.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-r-value-and-growth-rate