Brexit Archives

Brexit is top of most news reports just now, and rightly so, because our choice to leave the European Union is both momentous in terms of impact to the UK, and unprecedented as no country has yet triggered Article 50 to leave. The rule book has not been written.

Brexit has become hotly party political, especially in Scotland, where the Scottish Government published a paper in December Scotland’s Place in Europe setting out in detail its desire to seek a differentiated Brexit from the rest of the UK, retaining access to the Single Market and with freedom of movement of people. With the UK currently leaning towards a harder Brexit than this, another Independence Referendum is a possibility if things don’t go well and push comes to shove.

Putting personal views aside and trying to ignore party politics for the moment, what are the key Brexit issues for tourism? The ASSC was part of a round table tourism discussion with Mike Russell MSP who is the lead negotiator for the Scottish Government on Brexit, and Tourism Minister Fiona Hyslop MSP held at Holyrood in early December with representatives from the Scottish Tourism Alliance Board and Council.

The UK, including Scotland must be seen as open for business, visitors, hospitality and tourism. We need to continue to be perceived to be a welcoming destination despite a Brexit decision.

People

Although short-term letting traditionally has a low reliance on non-UK EU workers, 32,800 work in distribution, hotels and restaurants in Scotland. Restriction of employment of these workers will cause enormous problems for the tourism industry – for businesses and visitors. Quite a few are employed for language skills and would be a challenge to replace.

Visas

Imposing Visas on EU travellers would create a financial penalty to our visitors from Europe. International tourism is highly competitive and as the UK is one of the most expensive countries to visit as it is, adding more to visitors’ bills is just not sensible.

Currency fluctuations

Currency fluctuations may currently favour us in tourism, but you cannot base Tourism Strategy on volatile exchange rates. While the weak pound makes the UK look attractive to visit from abroad just now as well as favouring staycations, the most recent BHA figures on inbound tourism show this is not a given. Also, there are substantial price increases round the corner due to imports costing considerably more which will take the shine off any exchange-rate savings. The prospect of food tariffs if we cannot remain members of the Single Market only adds to the problem.

Rural Development

While Agriculture is currently staring into an abyss until a replacement for the Common Agricultural Policy is found, rural development funding through the European Rural Leader scheme funds rural projects, quite a number of which are tourism related, either directly or indirectly. We need assurance that this European funding stream will be replaced and continue post Brexit.

Opportunities

There are bound to be positive opportunities emerging, especially as more powers get devolved to Scotland, but we highlight these for now:

ASSC supports the Cut Tourism VAT campaign. The UK is currently at a disadvantage as 31 countries in Europe have reduced levels of tourism VAT. Currently receiving significant cross party support, Brexit might provide an opportunity to cement this case.

Air Passenger Duty

The Scottish Government has committed to reduce APD by 50% by the end of this government. We would like to see this cut further under Brexit.

Removal of Red Tape

The EU Package Travel Directive makes it very difficult for our members to sell self-catering accommodation together with other services. We support the BHA in calling for a deregulation to allow SMEs to work with local businesses to offer packages to encourage spending in the local economy.

Finally…

Brexit was decided by a narrow majority, smaller than that which decided against Scottish Independence. Over six months on, it is still very divisive, and the Scottish Government position looks difficult to achieve harmoniously.

The Association will continue to work closely with The Scottish Tourism Alliance and other tourism industry leaders to ensure that our concerns are being heard at the top level.

8^th January 2017

Industry collaboration key as UK moves towards leaving the EU

A statement from the Scottish Tourism Alliance following the results of the Brexit Referendum.

“The STA has remained neutral on the issue of whether or not the UK remains a member of the European Union. As a member association, we acknowledge that the views of our members differ on this issue and it is therefore right that the STA has not expressed a view one way or the other in the lead up to the referendum.

However, we have publicised the concerns of the hospitality, leisure and transport industries which have been identified as being the most exposed to the negative economic consequences of a Brexit. We are disappointed that the UK has voted to leave the European Union, despite the overwhelming strength of feeling that Scotland has shown in its wish to remain. The outcome will undoubtedly present additional challenges to the Scottish tourism industry when we already struggle to remain as competitive as the rest of the world as a destination.

One period of uncertainty is now over and we must now look ahead to collaborating with our industry partners and working with Scottish Government and Westminster to secure the best possible trading and economic environment to protect the future of what has been recognised as ‘the most important industry in Scotland’.

As the UK government begins the process of extricating the country from the European Union, we will receive further clarity on the unknowns which have caused significant concern for our tourism industry. We must retain our resilience, which our industry is known to do in all economically challenging and uncertain periods and look to working more collaboratively as an industry to build Scottish tourism’s future.

The STA has had many positive discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs over the last month and we look forward to further engagement with Scottish Government around how we can best deliver these quality, authentic, memorable experiences to all who visit Scotland, as we reflect and move on from this event.”

24th June 2016

The ASSC will continue to work closely with the STA and other partners to do all we can to support our members and the industry.

Tag: Brexit

Brexit