6. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the coach holiday industry regarding support during the Covid-19 pandemic. (S5O-04393)

I have had detailed discussions with the

Confederation of Passenger Transport, which I believe represents around about 100 of the 300 coach companies involved in tourism. I know just how important they are. We have seen, sadly, the loss of Shearings, which was a hugely successful coach tour business and which provided business to many hotels throughout, for example, the west Highlands.

I have suggested that the United Kingdom Government should have a bespoke scheme for the coach sector; thus far, we have not had a reply. Nonetheless, we continue to press those representations with our UK Government counterparts.

I very much welcome the announcement that was made by the Cabinet secretary of a provisional start date of 15 July, provided, of course, that appropriate safety guidelines are followed. I have had inquiries regarding the impact that social distancing will have on the sector when it is safe enough to resume business. Will developing safety guidelines in consultation with the coach sector form part of the work of the Scottish recovery tourism task force?

Yes. I expect that the task force will want to consider that, because coaches are a vital part of our tourism sector, taking people to and from hotels, beauty spots, visitor attractions, cities and cruise liners—and doing so in very high-quality coaches. It is therefore essential that we consider how we can help them survive this period. They have considerable fixed costs and, like everything else, this is not an easy area. However, I very much hope that the UK Government will take this very seriously, and that the detailed representations that we have made will be supported by Her Majesty’s Treasury with some funding for this part of the tourism sector.