First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's roadmap out of lockdown has been hailed by business leaders.
The Scottish Retail Consortium said it welcomed confirmation from the First Minister of an indicative date for the reopening of non-essential shops of April 26.
The list of essential retailers will be expanded to include garden centres as well as homeware stores, with both to resume trading on April 5, along with hairdressers and barbers.
Cafes, pubs and restaurants will have to close indoor areas at 8pm and will not be able to serve alcohol indoors.
Alcohol will be allowed in outdoor areas, which will be able to stay open 10pm, and, from May 17, venues will be able to serve alcohol indoors.
READ MORE: Shops, bars and restaurants to reopen towards end of next month
Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said the announcement would be cheered across the sector.
He said: "The First Minister’s announcement of an indicative timeline for the phased reopening of our tourism and hospitality sector will be massively welcomed by the sector today; it is the most positive news we have received in a long time.
"The STA has been in discussion with the Scottish Government on almost a daily basis over the past few weeks to highlight the need for a clearer route out of lockdown to be given to tourism businesses and our supply chain, not only to allow for the necessary timeframe to plan for reopening, but to protect the many thousands of jobs which are at risk.
"Today’s announcement will offer some very much needed light at the end of what has been the darkest tunnel for our industry."
He said: "One of the biggest challenges for tourism businesses has been the restrictions around travel throughout the country which will be removed as of April 26 allowing all tourist accommodation, cafes and restaurants the opportunity to open, 50 guests to attend weddings and our tourist attractions and adventure operators to start operating again.
"Concern remains around the impact of the loss of our international market which will continue to be felt acutely by many sectors who are dependent on our global markets to trade viably, but it was encouraging to hear the First Minister to discussions set to take place with the travel industry and refer to a review of this mid-May."
He said: "it’s absolutely critical that continued tailored financial support, by way of grants is made available to those who won’t be in a position to open and trade viably".
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “Credit is due to government for listening to the representations from retail.
"This announcement provides much-needed certainty to the industry, and its welcome to see moves to unwind a number of the elevated lockdown restrictions which were implemented at the turn of the year.
“The easing of these restrictions is good news for shoppers and the economy. It should provide a cashflow and confidence fillip for the retailers concerned and their suppliers. Now that we know which shops can open and when, retailers can begin communicating their plans with their workforces, suppliers and customers.
"The announcement of further financial support for shuttered shops will also be hugely valuable for businesses currently cut off from customers and for the health of our high streets.
"So-called non-essential shops stand ready to play their part in getting Scotland’s economy moving again, after a torrid twelve months which has seen retail sales and shopper footfall slump and shop vacancies spike to a six-year high. What our members want most of all is to get back to trading as soon as it is safe to do so, looking after customers and providing the goods and services we all need and want.”
Liz Cameron chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: "Businesses have been patiently waiting for indicative dates to re-open and today’s announcement is a good start. It will enable many businesses and customers to start planning and preparing for re-opening with confidence and optimism.
"There is still a lot of work to be done to plan for the reopening of the remaining sectors of the economy. We are now looking to engage on the granular detail of the levels, associated criteria and trigger points. We will work with government to help enable that to be done as quickly and as safely as possible, in line with the continued successful roll-out of the vaccination programme.”
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