Visitor Attractions Support Fund

This Support Fund has been established to provide support to Scottish businesses in the attractions sector that have been severely affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The £10 million fund is being delivered by VisitScotland, on behalf of Scottish Government and has been developed with input from the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA).

Is my business eligible?

The fund will be open to visitor attractions that can meet the following criteria:

• the business meets the definition of a visitor attraction as defined below
• the business is one of the eligible business types defined below
• the visitor attraction is in/delivered in Scotland
• the business has a valid annual insurance document to cover third party liability and/or employee liability insurance for the year ending in the 2020/2021 tax year
• the visitor attraction had a minimum annual turnover of £10,000 or more in the year 2019/2020 (to be verified from the business’s annual accounts)
• the business intends to operate the visitor attraction in 2021
• the business must not have been in financial difficulty as at 31 December 2019. An operator of a SME or large organisation should see the Subsidy Control section in the detailed guidance document for more information.

What is the definition of a visitor attraction?

For the purposes of this fund, the definition of a visitor attraction is derived from ASVA’s Articles of Association as follows:

“A visitor attraction is defined as an established excursion destination, a primary purpose of which is to allow public access for entertainment, interest or education; rather than being primarily a retail outlet or a venue for sporting or film performances. It must be open to the public, for published periods each year and should be capable of attracting tourists or day visitors, as well as local residents”.  Only businesses that meet this definition will be eligible to apply.

Eligible business types

• Activity attractions: including but not limited to adventure parks and indoor activity centres
• Culture and heritage attractions: including but not limited to castles, historic houses, museums and galleries, industrial and workplace attractions, clan attractions, historic sites and monuments
• Distillery/Brewery visitor centres and experiences
• Gardens
• Guided urban group walking tours with a designated premise
• Transport related attractions: including but not limited to boat trips, railways experiences and city sightseeing bus tours
• Wildlife and nature attractions: including but not limited to aquariums, wildlife centres, zoos, country parks and farm attractions
• Visitor Centres
• Science and Educational attractions: including but not limited to science centres

The fund is not intended to support:

• Government Department/Agency/Public body managed attractions (e.g. Forestry & Land Scotland, NatureScot, National Museums of Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland etc)
• National Parks
• Local Authority/ALEO managed attractions
• National Trust for Scotland attractions
• Theatres
• Racecourses
• Retail outlets, garden centres and shopping centres
• Indoor and outdoor sports activities, e.g. golf, tennis, netball etc.
• Outdoor activities including but not limited to guided wildlife-based activities, guided walking and cycling activities and non-motorised guided water-based activities
• Sports and leisure Centres
• Designated soft play centres
• Individual tour guides
• Self-employed/freelance guides who work for a number of businesses

Note the above list is not exhaustive and the right to add further ineligible business types during the assessment process for the purposes of clarity has been reserved.

How much is the grant?

Due to the limited amount of funding available, and in the interest of fairness, the final amount to be awarded to successful applicants will be determined once all submissions are received and vetted.

It is expected that a range of grants will be made up to a maximum of up to £50,000 per visitor attraction, depending on the level of turnover for that visitor attraction as set out below:-

There are 6 grant levels and final awards will be determined on applications received:

• Visitor Attraction with a turnover between £10,000 and £85,000 – Grant up to £5,000
• Visitor Attraction with a turnover between £85,001 and £250,000 – Grant up to £10,000
• Visitor Attraction with a turnover between £250,001 and £500,000 – Grant up to £20,000
• Visitor Attraction with a turnover between £500,001 and £1,000,000 – Grant up to £30,000
• Visitor Attraction with a turnover between £1,000,001 and £3,000,000 – Grant up to £40,000
• Visitor Attraction with a turnover in excess of £3,000,001 – Grant up to £50,000

It is anticipated that the Fund will be oversubscribed

How do I apply?

The fund will be open for applications from 12pm on Thursday 11 February 2021  until 5pm on Thursday 18 February 2021.

Applications must be submitted during this period but will not be considered on a first come first basis.

Businesses can only be successful and receive a grant award from one of the funds announced by the Scottish Government on or since 15 December 2020 to help the tourism and events industries to survive the impacts of COVID-19, regardless of the body who is administering the fund.

The tourism announcement was made by the Scottish Government on 21 December 2020. This does not mean that businesses cannot apply to multiple funds if they meet the relevant eligibility requirements. However, you must withdraw your application from all other funds and reject any other grant offers if you successfully apply and accept a Visitor Attractions Support Fund grant award.

If you operate more than one visitor attraction, you can apply for each visitor attraction.

After 31 March 2021, some applications may be chosen at random to be audited. Any applicants who have been found to have provided incorrect information or received multiple awards will be expected to return their awarded grant.

https://www.visitscotland.org/binaries/content/assets/dot-org/pdf/supporting-your-business/visitor-attraction-support-fund/visitor-attraction-guidancepdf.pdf

https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/service/funding/visitor-attractions-support-fund

The information in this blog provides only an overview of Scottish Government guidance and legislation in force at the date of publication and no action should be taken without consulting the detailed Scottish Government guidance and legislation or seeking professional advice.  Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material contained in this blog can be accepted by the firm.

Photo by Irene Jiang on Unsplash