Warning that Easter lockdown could be tipping point for NI's crisis-hit hotel industry
Northern Ireland’s hotel industry could lose up to £30m if lockdown is extended beyond Easter, it has been warned
Having already missed out on lucrative Christmas bookings the sector is worried Easter might also be a non-starter.
NI Hotels Federation chief Janice Gault said, as a result, it was already touch and go for many businesses across Northern Ireland.
Now, they are worried an extension to lockdown beyond March 5 could be the tipping point for many.
In an interview with Downtown Radio & Cool FM, Janice said: “For hotels the issue remains the cost of being closed.
“We are going through about 2 to £2.5m in fixed costs and we are also running up significant costs supporting furloughed staff.
“Easter is really a bit of a conundrum for the industry.
“I think people would like to be open – it is very much the start of the season and also very popular with weddings and it could see a 20-£30m hit depending on how long it is closed.”
Janice also urged politicians to come up with a different strategy for dealing with the pandemic in a bid to save the industry.
“We’ve been through this re-opening, lockdown and re-opening and I think if Christmas has shown us anything it is simply an unsustainable way to go forward,” she said.
“We need to work on a pathway where we open, we open well and we stay open.
“This a way to ensure this industry survives and that hotels are able to trade in a viable manner,”
Janice acknowledged that health did come first in any decisions that were taken and the industry would be very much respectful of that.
But she urged the Stormont Executive when making decisions over what measures needed to be in place when businesses did re-open, to bear in mind the challenges for hotels.
“Opening with social distancing, curfew and a number of other factors, simply makes some businesses unviable,” she said.
“We do realise when we open there will be restrictions and we can work within those.
“But it is important that hotels are given the opportunity to trade in a manner that makes them sustainable.”