Coronavirus: update on support for tourism businesses

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The outbreak of Covid-19 presents the tourism industry with an unprecedented challenge. Following the restrictions announced by the Government early last week, the Government announced that closure of all theatres, cinemas, gyms, leisure centres, pubs, bars and restaurants from last Friday.

Visit Herts will be hosting their first virtual networking event on Monday 30th March at 2pm via Webinar Jam – click on the link to register.

Last week Visit Herts urged the Government to support our vibrant visitor economy. The Government has listened and has announced an unprecedented package of support. In addition to the support already announced, the Government has additionally announced that:

  • A job retention scheme whereby employers can get a grant of 80% of the wages of staff that are not working up to a limit of £2,500 per month
  • VAT for all businesses will be deferred until the end of June and businesses will have until the end of the financial year to repay those bills
  • The interest-free period of the Coronavirus business interruption loan scheme will be increased from 6 to 12 months
  • Self-employed people will be able to access, in full, Universal Credit at a rate equivalent to Statutory Sick Pay for employees

This package of measures will support the industry to retain staff during these challenging times in order to rebuild once the crisis has past. Full details of this package will follow in the next few days and we will provide regular updates on how this support can be accessed.

Visit Herts thanks all its partners for all they are doing to support the staff and their communities and for their resilience, and is confident that the strong partnerships which we have in our wonderful destination will ensure that we will emerge stronger than ever.

The Visit Herts website has been updated with the latest COVID-19 updates, from financial support information to the latest global news. They have also created a LinkedIn forum to share the latest information and advice, and to create a space for all tourism businesses to discuss topics, share ideas and support one another.