KEITH Smith (Letters, June 13) is right, it would be stupid to re-open self-catering accommodation, which is normally let Saturday to Saturday, on Wednesday July 15. But instead of moving the date to the start or end of that week, as he suggests, it would be far better to move it forward to the start of the school holidays, June 27. Re-opening self-catering accommodation, or allowing people to go to their second homes for that matter, is not like re-opening serviced accommodation like hotels which crowds different households together indoors. In self-catering accommodation, including mobile homes and caravans, people can stay self-contained in their own households, just like at home. And, as long as they keep two metres apart when going outdoors, they pose no risk to anyone, just like at home.

Where local communities are concerned about self-caterers patronising local food shops, they could tell people to bring their own provisions for the week. As for cleaning, ask self-caterers to leave the windows open on departure, give time for any aerobic droplets to settle and then follow the good cleaning practice that needs to be followed throughout the tourism sector.

Re-opening other types of tourist facilities is far more difficult given current physical distancing rules. It makes no sense for the Scottish Government to treat self-catering and hotels the same, and aim to reopen both on the same day ("Scots tourism sector open for business 'next month'", The Herald, June 11). This will just create further unnecessary economic hardship, particularly in rural communities.

The school holidays are an important factor here. Many families with children will not get a holiday abroad this year and demand for accommodation in Scotland will be immense. If families are only allowed to book halfway through the holidays, demand will double, prices will rise and only the richest part of the population will be able to afford to go away. The families who have suffered most, those who have been confined to houses without gardens and who might have hoped to book a caravan by the seaside for a week, are most likely to lose out. The social and emotional problems caused by the lockdown are bad enough as is it, without making them worse.

The root of this problem is the Scottish Government's reluctance to allow people travel more than five miles. There is no basis for this in science. Driving by car does not spread the virus, it's what you do when you get out that matters. Scotland's countryside has enough space for everyone to keep safely apart. It could safely accommodate thousands of families, both on day visits and overnight. Public transport is an issue but it would be far better to let those with cars go first, creating space for others to follow, rather than forcing all families to book their holidays in a three week period or flee south to England.

Nick Kempe, Glasgow G41.