Government faces fresh calls to relax two-metre rule to save hospitality industry
The government should relax the two-metre social distancing rule, overhaul business rates, and create an Autumn bank holiday if it wishes to help businesses recover from the coronavirus lockdown, according to MPs and representatives from the hospitality industry.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Hospitality and Tourism today said that companies in the hospitality industry had been hardest hit by the crisis, but that the measures would help keep firms alive.
Just 11 per cent of hospitality businesses have been able to operate normally during the lockdown, the group said in a report, and international tourist arrivals are likely to be down 59 per cent for the year.
Tory MP Steve Double, who chairs the APPG, said: “The UK’s hospitality and tourism sectors have been devastated by the COVID-19 crisis and this report highlights the scale of the damage done to businesses.
“These are two of the most important parts of our economy and our inquiry has highlighted the importance of supporting these vital sectors in both the immediate and long term.”
Relaxing the two-metre rule has already been widely discussed in Westminster this week, and it is thought Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in favour of the measure.
The report has also urged the government to cut VAT on tourism, in a bid to boost the industry as it emerges from the lockdown.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UK Hospitality, added: “In every region of the UK, high streets in town and city centres have been almost entirely shuttered and normal life has been suspended.
“Hospitality and tourism were some of the first sectors to take a noticeable hit, even before lockdown began.
“The reality is that these sectors will also be two of the last to fully emerge and it will take time for employers to get back up to anywhere near full speed.”