Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 12/01/2022

£9 million to mitigate impacts of Omicron

Details of a financial package worth up to £9 million for Scotland’s vital tourism sector have been confirmed by Tourism Minister Ivan McKee.  

We will administer the funding package on behalf of Scottish Government, and it will be split between affected businesses in the following areas:

  • coach operators
  • day tour operators
  • hostels
  • inbound tour operators
  • outdoor / marine
  • visitor attractions

Read more on the funding being administered by VisitScotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

We recognise that the public health measures necessary to limit the spread of Omicron have had a severe economic impact, especially for affected businesses in the hard hit tourism sector.

We have now allocated up to £9 million to help ease the impacts of the pandemic on Scotland’s world-class tourism sector and ensure that affected businesses can survive what is clearly an especially tough winter period and be ready to trade fully in the spring and summer months.

We know this won’t cover all losses and will continue to press the UK Government for more comprehensive support.

Tourism Minister Ivan McKee

Scotland’s valuable tourism industry is still facing significant challenges posed by the pandemic.

This funding will provide crucial support to businesses affected by the necessary steps taken to tackle the spread of the Omicron variant.

We recognise that many businesses are struggling, and we are working to ensure that those eligible can access this funding as simply and as quickly as possible. Further details on this will be shared next week.

Chief Executive of VisitScotland Malcolm Roughead

Background

The £9 million funding package includes £6 million from the £375 million in business support that was previously announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and £3 million that has been repurposed from Phase 1 of the Tourism Recovery Programme.

Since the start of the pandemic we have delivered more than £46.7 million in business support directly to affected parts of the tourism sector, on behalf of the Scottish Government.

This is in addition to the £25 million tourism recovery programme which is being delivered by members of the Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group (STERG) - which we are part of.

Take a look at our funding story to see a full picture of the Scottish Government funding available.

Related links

11/01/2022

Update to current restrictions

Large outdoor events resume from 17 January. Measures covering indoor events and hospitality to be reviewed in one week.