The Government has now published dedicated guidance for the visitor economy to support businesses and venues in line with the easing of restrictions at Step 4 of the roadmap.
From Step 4, legal restrictions can be lifted, all businesses can open, and the government is no longer instructing people to work from home.
Businesses still have a legal duty to manage risks to those affected by their business. The way to do this is to carry out a health and safety risk assessment, including the risk of COVID-19, and to take reasonable steps to mitigate the risks you identify.
You should use the guidance below to consider the risk within your premises and decide which mitigations are appropriate to adopt. In the long term, we expect that businesses will need to take fewer precautions to manage the risk of COVID-19.
This guidance will be under constant review and when we receive more details, we will continue to update this page.
PRIORITY ACTIONS FOR BUSINESSES
SIX STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF, YOUR STAFF AND YOUR CUSTOMERS DURING COVID-19
These are the priority actions to make your business safer during coronavirus (COVID-19). Businesses should also read the full version of the guidance relevant to their organisation.
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Complete a health and safety risk assessment
This should consider the points below in the rest of this guidance. It should also take into account any reasonable adjustments needed for staff and customers with disabilities. You should share your risk assessment with your staff. You can find more information in the section on risk assessments and HSE guidance.
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Turn people with COVID-19 symptoms away
Staff members or customers should self-isolate if they or someone in their household has a new, persistent cough; a high temperature; or loses/has changes to their sense of taste or smell, even if these symptoms are mild. They must also self-isolate if they or someone in their household has had a positive COVID-19 result, or if they have been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace. If you know that a worker is self-isolating, you must not ask or make them come to work.
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Provide adequate ventilation
You should make sure there is a supply of fresh air to enclosed spaces where there are people present. This can be natural ventilation through windows, doors and vents, mechanical ventilation using fans and ducts, or a combination of both.
You should identify any poorly ventilated spaces in your premises and consider steps you can take to improve fresh air flow in these areas.
In some places, a CO2 monitor can help identify if the space is poorly ventilated.
Heritage locations should take into account the preservation of the building or artefacts displayed.
You can find more information in the section on ventilation and the HSE guidance on ventilation and air conditioning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Clean more often
Increase how often you clean surfaces, especially those that are touched a lot.
Heritage locations should ensure cleaning materials and schedules are appropriate for historic surfaces and materials.
You should ask your staff and customers to use hand sanitiser and clean their hands frequently, and provide them with advice to promote good hygiene.
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Enable people to check-in to your venue
You are no longer legally required to collect contact details, however doing so will help to support NHS Test and Trace to reduce the spread of the virus.
You can enable people to check in by providing an NHS QR code poster, though you do not have to ask customers to check in or turn them away if they refuse. If you display an NHS QR code, you should also have a system to collect (and securely store) names and contact details for those who ask to check in but do not have the app.
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Communicate and train
Keep all your workers, contractors and visitors up-to-date on how you’re using and updating safety measures.
NEW STEP 4 VISITOR ECONOMY GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE
The visitor economy, heritage locations, organised events and performing arts guidance has now been consolidated for Step 4.
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Events and Attractions
The new events and attractions guidance will help businesses prepare for the move to Step 4.
The guidance goes into detail on identifying risks and how to carry out a risk assessment (including examples from the Event Research Programme), managing your workforce including testing and vaccination and communications, reducing the risk for workers and visitors (additional measures such as face coverings, displaying NHS QR codes, considering using the NHS COVID pass to reduce transmission at venues or events), managing customers and audiences, practical advice on cleaning, hygiene and ventilation. There are also additional sections for heritage locations and event planning. -
Restaurant, Pub, Bars, Nightclubs and Takeaway services
To help businesses in England to prepare to move to Step 4 of the roadmap, the updated guidance for people who work in or run restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés, nightclubs or takeaways also suggests ways to help keep customers safe, including, the use of the NHS COVID Pass to reduce the risk of transmission at your venue or event, how to manage security, managing service of food and drink at a venue, etc.
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Hotel and Guest accommodation
The guidance has been updated to help owners and operators of hotels and other guest accommodation facilities (including hotels, motels, pubs, B&Bs, short term lets, guest houses, caravans, boats, campsites etc.) to help keep their customers safe, including information on communicating safety measures, displaying the NHS QR code, identifying areas of risk, considerations to avoid congestion, processes for guests who have to quarantine and practical information on cleaning, hygiene and ventilation.
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Weddings, civil partnerships ceremonies, receptions and celebrations
From 19 July, the rules for wedding and civil partnership ceremonies; and wedding receptions and civil partnership celebrations changed. At Step 4:
- There are no legal restrictions on the number of people that can attend a wedding, civil partnership, reception or celebration.
- Legal requirements for social distancing no longer apply and you do not need to stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with.
- Face coverings are no longer required by law in any setting. However, the government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport.
- COVID-secure rules, including table service requirements and restrictions on singing and dancing, no longer apply. However, there are steps everyone should continue to consider reducing the risk of transmission, which are explained in this guidance. All businesses should follow the principles set out in the working safely guidance.
- If someone has been instructed by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate because they have tested positive for COVID-19, or they’re the close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, they must still self-isolate and not attend.
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Managing outdoor / public spaces
Advice for local authorities, owners and operators in England has been published to support the safe use and management of outdoor public places, such as urban centres, green spaces, outdoor playgrounds, outdoor gyms, tourist hotspots (including beaches, the countryside and coastal areas) while the risk of COVID-19 transmission remains.
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Grassroots sports, providers and facility operators
This guidance sets out information for the public and sport providers on how to organise and participate in grassroots sport and physical activity as safely as possible, following the implementation of Step 4 on 19 July 2021.
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New risk management template for event organisers
A resource has been created to help event organisers to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in event settings.
The template sets out examples of the types of risk mitigation measures event organisers can put in place to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at events. This should be used in conjunction with the events and attractions guidance, which explains the types of events which may need to take additional measures and how these measures can help to reduce risk.It also includes more detail on how you can put these measures in place in different settings.
READ MORE HERE
INDUSTRY BODY GUIDANCE
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Reopening guidance from IAPPA
Reopening Guidance - Considerations for the
Global Attractions Industry -
Tour Guides
The Institute of Tourist Guiding, the British Guild of Tourist Guides, the Association of Professional Tourist Guides and the Driver-Guides Association have created the Covid-19 Guidance for Tour Guiding. Guides who are members of these organisations are expected to abide by this guidance during the Covid-19 crisis.
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UK Hospitality
COVID19 Secure Guidelines for hospitality businesses
UK Hospitality and partners have consolidated guidance and advice from many parts of the hospitality and visitor sector into one document to support businesses to create a Covid secure environment in line with Government guidelines.
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Guidance from the Association of Event Organisers
The AEO has published it’s All Secure Standard guidance. The guidance sets out to achieve common standards of health, safety and operational planning, management and on-site conduct for the events industry. It will be continually reviewed in line with the latest advice.