UKH Cymru welcomes easing of Welsh restrictions

UKHospitality Cymru has announced it has welcomed the announcement by the Welsh Government that all restrictions imposed on the industry in Wales would be lifted from January 28.

The Government announced the measures on 14 January, but warned that a full move to level 0 would be dependent on the public health situation continuing to improve.

UKH said that the restrictions – imposed in the absence of any evidence-based justifications – “significantly impacted trading over the commercially crucial festive period, with controls leading to a reduction in turnover of almost a half”.

Meanwhile, UKHospitality Cymru is also calling for the Welsh Government to top up the existing £120m industry support available to businesses, to help retain jobs, and for a new recovery fund to be introduced to begin the process of bringing the hospitality industry back.

David Chapman, executive director of UKHospitality Cymru, said: “This is positive and keenly anticipated news following a truly devastating period of restricted hospitality that has wiped out millions of pounds of revenue in weeks.

“Businesses have been pushed to the brink and there has been a palpable collective sigh of relief as today’s news has sunk in. Our gratitude is extended to the hundreds of businesses, large and small, which helped furnish UKHospitality Cymru with the financial data that helped to influence the Welsh Government Cabinet’s decision to speed up the lifting of restrictions.”

He added: “Hospitality is a cornerstone of communities across Wales and was a pre-pandemic economic powerhouse. It has been damaged but not downed and now needs a helping hand to support its long term rebuild.”