Further funding for the coach industry in Scotland and Wales

The Devolved Governments in Wales and Scotland have both announced funding to combat the impact of the Omicron variant on leisure and tourism and which are available to coach operators.

Wales

The Welsh Government Economical Resilience Fund provides support funding for coach operators and members are urged to use the on-line eligibility check tool to assess their initial qualification. As both funds and the time allowed for applications are limited, operators in Wales are urged to do this as a matter of urgency.

The eligibility check can be found here - COVID-19 Crisis Support Tool | Business Wales (gov.wales)

Scotland

The coach industry in Scotland will be eligible for further modest Scottish Government support after it was confirmed as one of six sectors that will benefit from an up to £9m package to mitigate the Omicron variant’s impact on tourism.

Visit Scotland will administer the scheme. It was responsible for the Scotland Coach Operators – COVID-19 Business Support and Continuity Fund, for which second round payments have all now been confirmed, taking the total paid to 126 operators to almost £10m across the two rounds of applications.

Specific details of the new funding stream are expected to be published by Visit Scotland next week and whilst the quantum is much less than previous, it does demonstrate the recognition by the Scottish Govt of the unique circumstances that the coach industry has faced since the outbreak of the pandemic.

We will update on the criteria and application process as soon as this is known but we understand that previous applicants, successful or not, will be contacted directly by Visit Scotland.

We have approached the UK Government (England) asking them to pledge their support.