A top Harrogate hotelier has said he hopes that a cut in VAT for the sector and a discount on sit down meals will help to generate demand.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced today that VAT for the sector will be cut by 15% for six months and a 50% discount for sit down meals from Monday to Wednesday for the whole of August.
The sector is worth a reported £200 million to Harrogate and employs around 9,500 people across the district.
Peter Banks, managing director of Rudding Park Hotel and Spa and chairman of Harrogate Hospitality and Tourism Association, said the measures were good news for the sector which has bore the brunt of lockdown.
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He said:
“It’s great news if it generates demand for us.
“The discount was very creative and I’m going to have to get my head around the announcement and come up with marketing strategies.
“So far the response has been very good to reopening our pub.”
The move comes as restaurants, bars and cafes reopened across the Harrogate District this past weekend after three months of lockdown.
The measures by Mr Sunak are the latest effort to get the sector, which saw 80% of businesses across the UK temporarily stop trading during lockdown, back up and running.
Local authorities in the Harrogate District have already moved to create more space outside bars and restaurants to increase capacity.
But industry owners have already warned that businesses will have to take advantage of the remaining summer months in order to survive a “tough winter” period.
Harrogate Borough Council leader, Richard Cooper, warned earlier this week that some businesses will not survive the impending economic downturn.
