Nairn's Camping and Caravan Club site set to remain closed for the rest of the year as the organisation prepares to open some sites across the rest of the UK with the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions
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A Camping and Caravan Club site at Nairn is one of a number across the UK which will not reopen for the rest of this year.
The organisation today published a list of sites which it is planning to reopen with the easing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions and the resumption of the tourism sector – however Nairn was included in the list of sites which will remain closed.
Sabina Voysey, the club's director general, said: "All of us at the club can’t wait for the day when we’re able to welcome people back to our campsites.
"We think that spending time in the great outdoors at places such as campsites will be just the break people need after spending so much time at home.
"Being out in the fresh air, the physical space between pitches and with additional social distancing and cleaning measures, we believe that we are well-placed to offer a safe, enjoyable break.
"Re-opening our campsites will allow many families to actually get a holiday this year and have a fantastic time exploring closer to home.
"The UK tourism sector desperately needs some semblance of a summer season to help businesses start to recover. We’ve lost £25million during our closure period and even as a large organisation it’s been a hugely testing time.
"There are many small and family-owned businesses that desperately need tourists to visit along with independent campsite and holiday park operators that need to be open to survive.
"Of course, we will only open when it’s safe to do so – the safety of our staff and campers has been our top priority from the start. We’ve been working with various industry bodies and have fed in our recommendations to government as to how we believe we can operate safely – we’re really hopeful the sector will get some clear operational guidance so campers can return with confidence."
She said reopening the network was logistically complex and would take time – with a lot of work operationally to make sure they were ready. She added: "We’ve had to make the best plan that we can for this moment in time. What sites we’re going to open, if we can open facility blocks, when we can bring staff back, new ways of managing sites and processes to follow.
"We’re legally shut, and the earliest we could possibly open in England is from the 4th July but with other areas of the economy opening back up we really need a steer from the UK and devolved governments – getting confirmed opening dates and official guidance for each nation is becoming critical.
"Of course, we will only re-open when the Government tells us it is safe and we’re legally able to do so, but as an organisation we are ready and we know our members want to camp.
"With more than 100 years’ experience we believe we can operate responsibly and after three long months of closure we can’t wait to welcome campers back."
