Covid restart fund helps 100 nation sports activities tourism companies

Over 100 country-specific sports tourism companies in Scotland received a portion of the Scottish Government’s £ 1 million fund to offset the losses from Covid-19.

The restart fund opened for applications in late February to help the hardest-hit companies. Applicants had to prove that they had suffered a minimum loss of 50% in sales as a result of the pandemic, while also demonstrating that 75% of annual sales came from the country’s sports tourism.

The fund, which was developed in collaboration with the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Scottish Country Tourism Group, VisitScotland and ScotGov, has received requests from various companies including sports agencies, game shooters, sports facilities, clay pigeon shooting ranges and deer stalking providers, falconers, sea fishing -Charter and inland fishing.

Alf Sorensen, owner of an Aberdeenshire-based sports agency, said the restart fund had been a much-needed lifeline for his company: “The coronavirus pandemic has been extremely disruptive and resulted in the almost complete loss of both international and international tourists from other UK nations.

“This funding gives us the best chance of successfully reopening when restrictions allow, and we would like to thank BASC and the SCSTG for their efforts to successfully campaign for this funding.”

Continue reading – Lifeline offered for country sports companies

Mike Hardy, owner of an Angus-based sports company, agreed: “After months of no support, I am extremely relieved that I successfully applied to the Scottish Land Sports Reboot Fund.

“The coronavirus restrictions had a significant impact on my business and we had to close for much of the second half of the shooting season while maintaining overheads.”

SCSTG chairman Rory Kennedy claimed that with the second high season lockdown going into effect, few other sectors were hit as hard as the country’s sport tourism: “It was unfortunate that we had to fight so hard for lifeline funding, but we did Appreciate the Scottish Government and its agencies for recognizing the vital role we play in Scotland’s rural economy and in supporting its fragile communities.

“We continue to represent the diversified country-specific sports tourism companies that still do not have access to coronavirus support,” he continued. “We remain concerned that some local authorities that manage funding flows may discriminate against legitimate country-specific sports companies and we are taking an active role in the authority level oversight.”

Ross Ewing, Public Affairs Manager at BASC Scotland concluded, “This fund has provided crucial and much-needed support to a sector that is critical to the rural economy. After a turbulent and disruptive year, this funding will enable many businesses to survive and reopen, which in turn will benefit other important rural businesses. ”