Shadow Minister for Finance and North Wales, Mark Isherwood MS, has called on the Welsh Government to follow Scotland’s lead in providing support for hostels and bunkhouses across Wales to help them survive the pandemic.
Raising the matter with the Finance Minister during yesterday’s virtual meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood emphasised the benefit of hostels and bunkhouses to local economies and quoted from a report which states “without extra financial support this winter 34% of hostels are predicted not to survive until the tourist season next year”.
He referred to the support being provided by the Scottish Government to hostels and bunkhouses there, and called for this to be replicated in Wales.
He said:
“The Scottish Government have announced they are providing grants for Scottish Hostels and Bunkhouses with a £2.3M Hostel Support Fund, and several operators of rural Bunkhouse and “outdoor alternative” businesses in North Wales have written to me calling for a Welsh Hostel and Bunkhouse support fund from the Welsh Government.
“As they said ‘We provide a service to our local community, bringing in visitors all year around who use the local pubs and shops” but “we have been catastrophically affected by the Covid rules and reduced social mixing because we provide shared accommodation for people from different households’.
“How do you therefore respond to the Independent Hostels in Wales Report ‘The Case for Extra Financial Support’, which states ‘Without extra financial support this winter 34% of hostels are predicted not to survive until the tourist season next year’ and ‘An ideal support would be a Support Grant directed specifically at hostels and group accommodation in the tourism sector’?”.
In her response, the Finance Minister said “I'd be encouraging those businesses to explore whether they have made the most of all the opportunities available to them by the Welsh Government”.
Mr Isherwood added:
“I told the Minister I would be happy to provide her with a copy of the report, which clearly shows that these businesses are already aware of the existing funding streams and have accessed them where they have been able to.”