Scottish tourism can recover if Scots embrace staycations – Stephen Jardine

A view of Loch Maree from Glen Doherty, part of Scotland's North Coast 500 scenic route (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Scots will be keen to holiday in their own country when hotels and tourist destinations are allowed to re-opern, writes Stephen Jardine

The last time I flew back into Edinburgh Airport in early March, I queued in the rain to get into the terminal building then waited ages at luggage reclaim for my bags. As I joined another line for the privilege of paying a fortune for a taxi back into the city, I wondered “is there an easier way to go on holiday?” Thanks to the coronavirus lockdown, this summer that is something we are all going to find out.

The UK Government has made it clear it is far too early to be making holiday plans for this year as the impact of the pandemic rumbles on. But even if the lockdown is relaxed any time soon, it will take the bravest of souls to make family travel plans abroad.

With a second wave of the pandemic a possibility anywhere, a sudden repeat lockdown could leave travellers trapped and vulnerable. There is also the issue of getting home if the UK Government does decide to proceed with proposals for a two-week quarantine for any passenger arriving in the UK from abroad. On top of that we have the perilous state of international aviation with many airlines struggling to stay in business and the survivors talking about serious fare hikes and delays at airports as health checks are introduced for passengers boarding aircraft.

All of this means if a holiday is possible in 2020, for most people it is going to come in the shape of a staycation. In the midst of a tsunami of bad news, that offers some scope for optimism.

Scotland is a breathtaking country yet most of us know the Spanish islands better than the archipelagos off our own coast.

With a huge range of accommodation from high-end luxury to modest self-catering, we also have something for everyone. For Scottish families locked down for weeks and weeks, the prospect of our vast open spaces and empty hills and beaches will be tantalising this summer.

On top of all that is the lure of giving something back. This is the toughest start of the year ever for Scottish tourism. Right now accommodation and activity providers should be inundated with bookings for the summer; instead when the phone rings more often than not it is a cancellation.

But this is about more than the businesses themselves. Most support a fragile eco-system of rural employment and supply that will be reverberating from the impact of the lockdown. The more rural the location, the truer that is.

By choosing to holiday at home this year, we will be supporting our own economy when it needs us most. The potential is huge. In an average year, the domestic market accounts for about 70 per cent of Scottish tourism with 50 per cent consisting of Scots holidaying at home. That leaves half of us ready to explore Scotland this summer.

Of course, all that has to wait until the moment is right and the lockdown is relaxed but when that time comes, we need to seize the opportunity. To those who complain of too much tourism, this crisis shows what happens when the tap is turned off, jobs go and businesses shut up shop.

It will take a proper Scottish welcome and some real hospitality to get visitors back but that process will start here at home.

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