Scotland eases out of lockdown - but tourism spending expected to return to pre-Covid levels for years

But city council-owned culture and sport charity Glasgow Life has confirmed dozens of venues including libraries, community centres and sports centres are not scheduled to open their doors.

Included in the list of venues with no indicative opening dates were numerous golf, bowls, football and sports facilities and comes after a 15% drop in the Glasgow Life budget this year.

Among them are the popular King George V playing fields, Ibrox Football Centre and the Linn Park Golf Course.

In many cases facilities were being earmarked for community management or there was an interest in it being taken on by a third party.

It comes as mainland Scotland moves down from level four to level three Covid restrictions.

It means up to six people from two households to socialise indoors in a public place such as a café or restaurant.

For hospitality it means opening indoors for food but without alcohol till 8pm but outdoor service with drinks comes with a 10pm curfew.

Ms Sturgeon said that if the data continued to improve, the whole of Scotland would move to level two on 17 May.

This would allow people to meet indoors in small numbers and see a further easing of hospitality restrictions.

The First Minister said she hoped that the country would move to level one on 7 June, and then to level zero later that month.

From today, takeaways can be collected indoors, non-essential childcare will be allowed, non-essential work can be carried out inside houses and driving lessons and tests can take place again.

Dr Peggy Brunache, seen in the Merchant City, Glasgow,  shows off the app available from today that gives details  of Scotland’s links to slavery Picture: Kirsty Anderson

Major attractions that will re-open include some of Glasgow's most iconic venues, including the Emirates Arena. The Mitchell Library will reopen on Tuesday 27 April.

Much-loved community and sports facilities including Hillhead Library, Linn Park Adventure Playground, Glasgow BMX Centre and Tollcross International Swimming Centre will also open their doors in the coming weeks.

Jim Clarkson, west regional leadership director for VisitScotland said that tourist spending won't return to 2019 levels when it hit £775m in Glasgow for a number of years.

Looking at the prospects for Glasgow as tourism and hospitality reopens, he said: "But we have positive milestones on the horizon, including the prospect of matches at Hampden for Euro 2020 going ahead with some in-person spectators and hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26.

"While these events will almost certainly take place under Covid-safe measures that will limit attendance and immediate impact on businesses, they still come with the kind of prestige and blanket media coverage that gives us a huge opportunity to aid the recovery by laying foundations for future visits.”

A new campaign to help the public find their nearest gallery and champion Scotland's contemporary art and studio facilities has been launched to coincide with the easing of lockdown.

The #ArtUnlocks campaign, organised by Scottish Contemporary Art Network (Scan), will highlight the cultural opportunities in neighbourhoods across Scotland.

In Edinburgh, Dovecot Gallery presents a brand new show of work by Scotland's 'forgotten pop artist', Archie Brennan.

Opening on April 26, Archie Brennan: Tapestry Goes Pop! celebrates Pop artist, weaver, and former Mr Scotland Archie Brennan who is described as someone who changed the course of modern weaving.

Sculpture park Jupiter Artland near Edinburgh is already open to visitors, and on May 8 will unveil a brand new work by Rachel Maclean, who represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale in 2017, while visitors will also be able to see four landmark works made by the artist during the last decade.

Families will again be able to visit Summerlee Museum of  Scottish Industrial Life in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire 

In Dundee, artist Emma Talbot, who won the 2020 Max Mara Art Prize, will present her first ever solo show in Scotland, Ghost Calls, which opens at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) on April 28.

Scan director Moira Jeffrey said: "As Scotland begins to open up after a long, tough winter, we're delighted to be sharing the good news that contemporary art is safe, family-friendly and opening soon in your neighbourhood.

"From Orkney to rural Dumfriesshire, Dundee to Edinburgh and Glasgow, you will be able to visit outdoor and indoor venues this spring and summer.

"As art unlocks its doors across the country, we know it also unlocks potential, new ideas and health and wellbeing. Scotland's art galleries, workshops, and contemporary art venues are waiting to welcome you."

In Glasgow the CCA (Centre for Contemporary Arts) in Sauchiehall Street re-opens on Friday April 30 in preparation for a new exhibition in partnership with Glasgow School of Art.

The title of the exhibition, ambi, is Punjabi for the pattern known as Paisley Pattern and the show opens on May 7.

Other museums and galleries reopening this week include The Pier Arts Centre in Orkney, Black Watch Castle and Museum in Perth, and Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott, near Melrose in the Borders.

Lucy Casot, chief executive of Museums Galleries Scotland, said: "It has been an incredibly challenging year for the sector's staff and volunteers.

"Everyone is looking forward to welcoming visitors back and they have worked immensely hard to make it a safe experience, without losing the magic of spending time in a museum and gallery.

"Museums need our support now that they are open, and we encourage people to visit them in person or online."

The Scottish Retail Consortium urged public to play its part in creating a safe and enjoyable retail experience for other customers and store staff.

The SRC has estimated stores have lost out on £4.1 billion of retail sales since the onset of the pandemic, whilst investing significantly in physical distancing and hygiene measures and PPE for staff.

Last week SRC launched its new social media campaign (details below) on safe shopping, to encourage shoppers to queue considerately, maintain social distancing, wear face coverings, and be respectful to store staff.

David Lonsdale, director the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers have spent millions of pounds to make shops Covid-secure for customers and colleagues. We encourage Scots to get out and visit their favourite shops over the coming weeks knowing every purchase they make and every item they buy is a local job supported and a high street helped. Unlocking consumer spending will be central to Scotland’s economic recovery and to bouncing back quickly. While we expect an initial surge in spending when shops re-open, the real test will be how this holds up.

“Many of us will be looking forward to returning to our favourite shop in the coming weeks, and we all have a duty to keep each other safe. Everyone should be considerate and respectful to their fellow shoppers and hard-working shop staff. This way we can all enjoy shopping and support our local communities."

The Federation of Small Businesses said that confidence was rising among local and independent firms as they begin to re-open.

FSB’s Scottish Small Business Confidence index swung from -69.0 points in the last quarter of 2020, through to +18.8 points in the first three months of 2021.

Further, half of Scottish businesses are expecting an increase in profits in the next three months, when only 10% expected an increase at the end of last year.

About one in six (16%) Scottish small businesses also say they want to increase staff numbers over the next three months.

New research from Visa has found that consumer confidence towards shopping in store is also bouncing back, with three quarters of Scots surveyed (78%) excited to shop in physical retailers as they return to the shops.

The top reasons people are excited to return in store include being able to touch and try items (49%) and getting their hands on their purchases immediately (44%).

Andrew McRae, FSB’s Scotland policy chair, said: “After a dark and difficult winter, our new survey shows that Scotland’s smaller businesses are feeling more positive about the future.

“But the easing of restrictions doesn’t mean that the crisis is over for Scottish firms. That’s why it is so important that people use the local businesses in their communities as they reopen to customers – not just in the next couple of weeks, but in the months and years to come."

Meanwhile a new digital tool to collect contact details for tracing receives a live launch today in nearly 6,500 venues including pubs, restaurants and cinemas.

Check In Scotland lets people give their details quickly and securely by scanning QR code posters at venues or downloading the app of the same name, said the Scottish Government.

All names, numbers and email addresses are stored in an encrypted data vault unique to each venue for 21 days.

More than 6,400 venues have so far signed up to the voluntary service including hospitality sites, museums, theme parks, hairdressers, tattoo parlours, beauticians and massage therapists.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Life said the impact of the pandemic has affected its ability to open venues and run the services, events and experiences "we are proud of delivering for the people of Glasgow and visitors to the city".

“Glasgow Life’s operating budget for 2021/22 is nearly 15% lower than our pre-pandemic budget and the £100m safety net recently announced by Glasgow City Council will be used in its entirety reopening the more than 90 facilities across the city that we have already announced.

" Without those funds, even fewer facilities would be able to open. The increased financial security provided by the Council will allow us to reopen a third more venues than the initial 61 we indicated in July last year.

“Glasgow Life faces the same difficult choices that many other organisations face in the wake of the pandemic, which for us has meant a near complete loss of income. While some venues do not have planned reopening dates, that doesn’t mean we are not already exploring opportunities for the alternative provision of their services or for communities to become more involved in running them.

“Three Glasgow Life venues are already being run by local organisations as part of Community Activation Pilots and more than 150 expressions of interest have been received through the People Make Glasgow Communities programme, including for some Glasgow Life venues that do not currently have reopening dates. The initiative was launched just two months ago and it will take time to assess these and further applications.”