BII says we are killing our tourism industry

3rd September 2009, 2:23pm

The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has reacted to the Scottish Licensing Laws that came into force this week, saying that we are “killing the very communities on which our tourism industry and the wider economy of Scotland depends.”

Janet Hood, Head of BII Scotland, looks at the bigger picture: "Today we have 20% fewer small businesses in Scotland than we did on Monday. That's 20% fewer social hubs for communities. 20% fewer amenities in those hard to reach towns and villages which are home to many members of our population and for which Scotland is so well-loved.
 
"In simple terms, we're killing the very communities on which our tourism industry and the wider economy of Scotland depends.
 
"And that's the key point here; we're not just talking about the damaging effects on the pub sector, we're talking about small businesses and our tourist offering suffering a massive hit. In these challenging times of economic downturn, communities and the people within them need more support than ever before. Instead, we all had to watch, powerless, as a catalogue of unnecessary bureaucracy and incompetence resulted in a devastating shower of premises closures - and the fall-out is likely to continue.
 
"The worst affected are small businesses in vulnerable rural areas; many B&Bs, village halls, tourist attractions, small restaurants and village shops have been unable to enter the new regime due to cost and legislative restrictions. Of course, the effects of this are felt by the whole community and we implore the Scottish Government to take action to reverse the harm to those businesses and communities.
 
"We recognise that irresponsible sales of alcohol and reckless drinking cause harm, however, we also recognise – as did the Government at the start of this reform – that most licensees retail alcohol responsibly. The Scottish Government should be trying to tackle the social problems which lead to alcohol abuse and not trying to make scapegoats out of licensees.
 
"We call on the Scottish Government to use medical, social or criminal intervention to tackle those who abuse alcohol as this is what will achieve cultural change and a have real positive impact on the problems. They have the full support of BII members and the wider industry in doing this.
 
"The medical profession has been right to highlight the harmful effects of alcohol if it is abused but they have little understanding of the business world and appear to have no concept of the harm that having no social hub [pubs and shops] can have on remote communities. They should perhaps concentrate on their core purpose which is to prevent illness and look after the sick."

Related Articles:

• 01 Sep 2009 - Scottish drink laws introduced today

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