Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

UK hospitality industry calls for 'urgent' support

"Urgent" support is needed to prevent "widespread devastation", the hospitality sector has warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Around 120 hospitality and tourism bosses have signed an open letter calling for aid and investment.

The industry wants to see VAT reduced, tax bills further deferred and some rent debt covered through grants.

Bosses say parts of the sector will not survive because some businesses remain closed, despite the easing of lockdown.

"Hospitality businesses operate with very high fixed costs and labour costs are the only flexible point to absorb this suppressed demand," the letter said.

"Many parts of the late night and leisure economy, as well as activities such as events and conferencing in our hotels, have no provisional date for reopening and this is impacting confidence and undermining job security."

Labour is calling for the government to create a £1.7bn "fightback fund" to prevent firms in the hospitality industry and on High Streets from going under.

It wants ministers to give councils more flexibility to tailor support for their local economies and better focus funds on struggling businesses, such as hotels and cafes in coastal communities, as well as conference centres and music venues in towns and cities.

The Treasury said the government's job retention scheme had protected 9.2 million jobs, adding that the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, had announced a business rates holiday specifically for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.

Bosses claim that the hospitality and tourism industry have been hardest hit by the crisis, compared to other sectors. They also argue that the impact is likely to last longer than in other sectors, due to social distancing rules, restrictions on business events and lower demand from international tourists.


Recovery help needed

"Sales across the sector are expected to be 56% lower than last year, reducing revenues by £73.4bn and half of businesses do not expect to reach break even until the end of next year," the hospitality industry warned.

Trade group UK Hospitality says it is "confident" that the industry can return to full strength and still be able to operate safely and responsibly, but it will require help from the government to enable businesses to "restart and begin to recover" over the remainder of 2020 and into 2021.

To that end, bosses have outlined a set of recommendations for the government, which include:

Automatically extending the deferral of all tax liabilities that are due in July
Providing a grant to cover a proportion of rent debt during closure, reopening and recovery
Temporarily reducing VAT to 5% for tourism services
Extending furlough for hospitality businesses to protect jobs
Doubling the employer National Insurance contributions threshold to protect a return to part-time work
Extending the hospitality business rates holiday to March 2022
The hospitality industry stressed in the letter that the sector has a record of creating new jobs following a crisis, and that it can be trusted to do it again, with help from the government.

"In the decade that followed the financial crisis hospitality consistently created around one in six new jobs thanks in part to the VAT cuts and investment in youth employment and training introduced in the immediate aftermath," hospitality bosses wrote.

"We can do so again. Physical hospitality cannot be replicated digitally online, in the same way that some form of retail can be. We therefore urge you and your colleagues across government to work with us to stimulate demand and support the sector's recovery."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×