The cost of living crisis could force more than a quarter of the region’s tourism businesses to close.
And traders fear rising costs are a bigger risk to the industry than the coronavirus pandemic.
The worrying picture was revealed by a South of Scotland Destination Alliance survey of more than 100 businesses, including accommodation providers.
SSDA interim chief executive Melanie Allen, said: While the overall results are a bit of a mixed bag, it’s quite stark to note that a really significant proportion of regional businesses fear they may have to shut their doors for good given the exceptionally challenging economic climate we’re in just now.
“As an organisation, the SSDA is committed to supporting all our members across the south of Scotland, and we will be continually looking at ways our support will make the most impact for businesses.
“Over the past year it has been rewarding to see audiences of our regional brand Scotland Starts Here grow exponentially. With this greater profile we hope to see tourism and hospitality businesses benefit from increased exposure to both domestic and international visitors.”
She added: “Over the next few months we will be engaging with businesses on marketing campaigns, tourism industry insights, webinars and workshops as additional support.
“We see our primary role as a facilitator of cross-industry collaboration and sharing best practice, as well as championing our members’ needs and priorities at national and UK level.
“I will shortly be writing to MSPs on behalf of the SSDA, setting out the immediate and medium-term priorities and needs of the tourism and hospitality sectors in the south of Scotland, to inform their budget-setting and decision-making into 2023.”
More than 50 per cent of the businesses that responded to the survey said they were neutral or pessimistic about their hopes for the next six months – although more than two thirds were neutral or optimistic regarding the next couple of years.
And one said: “The current cost of living crisis feels much, much bigger than Covid as a risk to business survival and growth.”
