Moray pleased to be reopening
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A local survey has highlighted optimism amongst local people about the 'reopening' of Moray.
However, the same survey shows just over a half of the public are not ready to welcome back visitors to the region
More than 500 people took part in the survey, which was run by Moray Chamber of Commerce last month.
Its results, which have now been released, showed 70% of people as happy to move in to Phase 2 of the Scottish Government’s Route Map.
Phase 2, which came into action last week, allows some people to return to their workplaces and also plans for the phased opening of many other businesses.
When asked about their future purchasing habits, respondents to the survey ranked click and collect services, local delivery, and early/later opening times to all be of equal importance.
This, says the chamber of commerce, reflects the 64% of people who are worried that businesses will not be able to maintain physical distancing.
The survey also asked if respondents were ready to welcome visitors back to Moray, given that the tourism, leisure and hospitality sector has been hit very hard by the pandemic.
Sarah Medcraf, the chamber's chief exectuive, said: "The results for this question were so close, with 52% saying they weren’t ready to welcome visitors compared to 48% who were.
"This is alarming for us as a region.
"Tourism is worth £135m annually to our economy and the sector employees 10% of Moray’s workforce.
"We also need to remember the supply chain around this, and the wider number of people impacted by tourism.
"Working in line with the Government advice, we need to encourage people to be able to welcome visitors to our region to help businesses catch what is left of the season.
"We all know when we go on holiday, people can make or break an experience – we certainly don’t want that to be the latter."
The survey also highlighted grass cuttings, the reduction of the two-metre rule and parking charges as other issues that Moray will face over the coming months.
Moray Chamber of Commerce has recently co-signed a letter with other business organisations in the region urging the council to reconsider its recent decision to reinstate Elgin’s car parking charges from the start of August.
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