Coronavirus update for tourism businesses on Exmoor

Coronavirus Update for Exmoor Tourism Businesses - 22 September 2020

Dear all,

We know most of you are still experiencing high levels of visitors and enquiries. In case you've not had a chance to familiarise yourself with some of the latest changes to government restrictions and guidelines that effect your tourism/hospitality business we provide some detail below.

Following today's announcements, we all await further detailed guidance and exemptions which may affect some events such as some of those in the Dark Skies Festival.

Please keep abreast of the details that apply to your business. As we all await the detailed guidance there are still many visitors already here or planning a visit who can safely experience the special qualities of Exmoor.

Dan James

Sustainable Economy Manager

New rules from Thursday 24th September

Tuesday's Announcements by the Prime Minister

The PM has just announced the following rules from Thursday in England:

Pubs, restaurants and bars will have to close at 10pm (except for takeaways)
Only “table-only” service will be allowed at pubs, restaurants and bars
Staff in retail and indoor hospitality will have to wear masks
The Covid-secure workplace guidance will become a legal obligation.
The number of people able to attend a wedding is being reduced from 30 to 15
The £10,000 fines imposed on those who don't quarantine will now be applied to businesses and the penalty for failing to wear a mask or breaking rule of six will double to £200.
Exemptions to the “rule of six” will be reduced.
People have been asked to work from home if they can
The planned reopening of conferences, exhibitions and events on 1^st Oct has been suspended

He also warned that these rules are likely to stay in place for 6 months.

Current regulations for hospitality businesses and venues

Hospitality venues in England are now legally required to:

Enforce the rule of 6 or face a fine of up to £4,000.
Log details of customers, visitors and staff for NHS Test and Trace
From Thursday 24 September to display official NHS QR code posters

Services included in the new legal requirements are:

Hospitality, including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés
Tourism and leisure, including gyms, swimming pools, hotels, museums, cinemas, zoos and theme parks 
Close contact services
Facilities provided by local authorities, including town halls and civic centres (for events), libraries and children’s centres

Rule of 6:

Pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants in England will now need to take bookings of no more than 6 people, ensure people are not meeting in groups of more than 6 people on their premises, and make sure there is sufficient space between tables.
Venues may face fines of £1,000 for venues for failing to comply. Fines will rise to up to £4,000 for repeat offenders.
It will be an offence for a business to fail to adhere to the rule of 6 (respecting all exceptions to this) when taking a booking, allowing entry to a group of more than 6 people.
Once groups are within the premises, businesses also risk offending if they fail to advise groups not to merge in ways that breach the rules.
Businesses will also need to ensure adequate distance between tables

QR Codes and Track & Trace

Your business must support the Track & Trace system via using the QR code system and supported by a manual record when needed.
Businesses will be expected to make sure their customers are aware of the rules around QR codes by displaying posters and speaking to customers directly.
If individuals check-in using the NHS COVID-19 app QR code poster they do not need to log in via any other route. Information should be collected by the venue for those people that have not checked-in using the QR poster.
Businesses can generate their coronavirus NHS QR code here.

Exmoor Day - Get involved

A virtual celebration of everything that is great about Exmoor will take place on 19th October. Read more here about how you can get involved and increase awareness of Exmoor and your businsess.

www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/exmoor-day

Who's who - meet the Exmoor National Park Sustainable Economy Team

Dan James,

Sustainable Economy Manager

Mon - Fri

@DanJamesENPA

Katrina Munro,

Economy Project Officer

Mon - Thurs

@KatrinaMunroENP

National Park Centres

Our National Park Centres at Dunster, Dulverton and Lynmouth are available to inspire and inform you and your guests with expert advice, interactive displays and resources.

@ExmoorNPCs

Visit Exmoor

We support and host Visit Exmoor who take a lead on the marketing of Exmoor as a visitor destination.

@VisitExmoor