Tourism minister, Nigel Huddleston has announced an emergency fund, worth ?1.3 million, to support tourism organisations across England during the coronavirus outbreak.
The fund aims to provide urgent financial support to tourism organisations that are at "severe risk of closure" during the pandemic, according to a statement from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
This funding will be available to any at-risk destination management organisation (DMO) which usually receives at least 50% of its income from commercial sources. The DCMS statement said that funds will be used to cover operating costs and the cost of employees that cannot be furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme because they provide crucial business support services. DMOs provide expert advice and guidance to local businesses and play an important role in developing and promoting English tourism. As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, a number of DMOs, of which there are an estimated 150, are facing cashflow issues and loss of commercial income. Under the scheme, DMOs will be able to receive up to ?2,500 per month for two members of non-furloughed staff who provide crucial business support services and up to ?5,000 to cover operating costs. The money has been repurposed from the Discover England Fund,
?At the moment it is of utmost importance that everyone plays their part and stays at home to protect the NHS and save lives," Mr Huddleston said. ?However, we also need to act now to help the tourism sector be as strong as possible when we get through this pandemic. Destination Management Organisations will play a vital role in this recovery and this fund will support their essential work.?
VisitEngland acting CEO Patricia Yates commented: ?Tourism has been one of the earliest and hardest hit of all economic sectors and this fund will help to ensure DMOs can continue to provide crucial support and expert guidance to the hundreds of thousands of small-to-medium sized businesses that make-up England?s tourism sector. Our intention is to get the funds out quickly to DMOs with a light touch application process as we work with them in recovery planning, to ensure that tourism rebounds and once again becomes one of the most successful and vibrant sectors of the economy.?
Image credit: David Lally
