A £6 MILLION fund is being made available to support inbound tourism and those businesses which promote and sell packages to international markets.

The Scotland Inbound Tour Operators – Covid-19 Business Support and Continuity Fund is open to inbound tour operator and destination management companies that manage travel packages.

The funding is part of a wider package of support for tourism and hospitality businesses from the Scottish Government totalling £104.3m.

Businesses that rely on international visitors for income have been hit particularly hard by the impact of Covid-19 since the crisis began last year. The one-off fund will help provide financial stability over the next four to six months and will also help firms prepare for late 2021 business.

The fund will be managed by VisitScotland, and chief executive Malcolm Roughead said: “Covid-19 is having a devastating impact on the tourism and events industries and they will need financial support for some time to come.”