Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 19/02/2021

At the end of last year, the Scottish Government announced that tourism and hospitality businesses across Scotland were to benefit from a £104.3 million Scottish Government package.

This funding will help a number of tourism and events businesses in key sectors who have received little or no support so far.

Tourism Secretary Fergus Ewing announced an additional £25 million of funding for VisitScotland schemes to support businesses through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on 11 February 2021. 

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop has also announced an additional £8.5 million for the events sector that will be distributed through the Pivotal Events Businesses Fund and the Events Industry Support Fund 2 as well as targeted support.

We will be administering 13* of the Scottish Government funds and will move our focus from marketing to funding and support for the next three months to ensure that desperately needed help is delivered quickly, to those most in need.

We have moved more than 100 staff from other tasks to get these funding streams organised and process them as quickly as possible.

Funds we’re delivering on behalf of Scottish Government

These 13* funds present a clean sheet – so those who have had COVID-19 related funding before can apply again.  A business bank account will not be required – although evidence of running a business will.

* The Outdoor Fund has two strands, as does the Scotland Tour Operators, combined with the other funds that brings the figure to 13.

We are committed to supporting Scotland’s vital tourism and hospitality sectors through the current restrictions so that we have a viable industry ready to trade when the time is right.

This additional £25 million will boost existing funds this financial year and will support the short term response to the Scottish Tourism Recovery Taskforce recommendations.

Tourism Secretary Fergus Ewing said in relation to the announcement of increased support

All of the funding packages are being delivered with input from the tourism industry and sector groups to ensure we get the right support to the right people.

A thriving tourism and events industry is essential to lead Scotland’s pandemic recovery. It is a force for good by not only providing jobs and economic benefits to every corner of the country, but also bringing benefits to our wellbeing and society.

Should you have any questions, please get in touch on customer.services@visitscotland.com.

We understand how tough things are for the tourism and events industry at the moment and know that the impact of the ongoing pandemic is making business survival increasingly difficult. There is therefore a need to deliver funding as quickly as possible.

We have huge sympathy for businesses across Scotland, and we continue to feed concerns back to the Scottish Government through the Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group – which we chair – and the Event Industry Advisory Group in the hope that more support will be made available in the future.

Riddell Graham, Director of Industry & Destination Development

Scottish Government Funds

In addition to the Scottish Governments Strategic Framework Business Fund, there are additional funds to target financial support at those businesses and sectors that are not eligible.

This is a list of these funds - including those being administered by VisitScotland.

These targeted grant schemes open / in progress / closed:

Funds going live this month:

Larger self-catering properties and B&Bs

Details of support for larger self-catering properties and B&Bs paying council tax have been confirmed by Tourism Secretary Fergus Ewing.

The £7 million Large Self-Catering Grant and the Exclusive Use Grant was announced as part of the £104 million tourism and hospitality package in December.

Eligible self–catering businesses will be able to apply for one off grant support of £2,000. Eligible exclusive use premises will be able to apply for £10,000 in grant support.

All self-catering properties, B&Bs and guest houses that are eligible at level four for Non Domestic Rates relief can now apply to the Strategic Framework Business Fund, which provides grants for businesses required to close by law as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. In most cases this will be payments of £2,000 every four weeks.

It has been confirmed that support equivalent to the Strategic Framework Business Fund will also now be available to B&Bs which do not pay Non Domestic Rates but pay council tax. This support will be paid by local authorities.

Details of how to access the Large Self-Catering Grant and the Exclusive Use Grant, and support for B&Bs paying Council tax rather than NDR, will be published in Find Business Support shortly. 

Read the full story.

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