Traders in Inverness are optimistic after busier weekend following easing of Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown in the Highlands and across Scotland as a whole
FOOTFALL in Inverness was building over the weekend as people started to feel confident about returning to the city centre.
Councillor Graham Ross (Inverness West, Independent), the chairman the Inverness city and area recovery committee, said the city had been busier over the weekend, particularly in the evenings, which he described as encouraging.
He said: “As far as I am aware there has been a steady progression throughout the week. The traffic is a lot busier as well.”
As the coronavirus restrictions are eased, the message from traders is clear – the city centre is open for business, and people are being urged to spend their money locally to help support our shops, bars, cafés and restaurants.
Getting Inverness Back to Business is a new campaign to highlight the fact that the city centre is now safe for shopping and for going out.
It is being run by the Inverness Courier, in association with Inverness Business Improvement District (BID) and the Inverness Common Good Fund, and calls on the public to get out in the city centre and help bring back the normal buzz and vibe of the Highland capital.
Inverness BID manager Mike Smith said he had been in the city centre on Saturday and Sunday and it had been busier – but he expected it to be a gradual return to normal.
He said: “What is good to see is we have an increase in numbers coming into the city which is a mix of locals and tourists. Scottish tourists are coming to the area which is good for the hospitality businesses.
“The bars that I saw were busier than they had been and it was a really good atmosphere.”
Jackie Cuddy, the manager of the Eastgate Shopping Centre, said numbers were starting to build there and it had been good over the weekend.
She said: “It has been steady all week and on Saturday there were more.
“We are still running at about 60 per cent footfall compared with what we would normally expect but we are in line with everywhere else.
“I was talking with a lot of the retailers on Saturday and they were pleasantly surprised with the sales they were getting. They all feel they are getting better than they expected.”
She said that one of the fashion retailers had said they were actually up on last year and this could be because many were offering discounted sales. She added: “They will have forfeited some profit but the sales are good.”
Mrs Cuddy said she had seen bigger groups and families visiting the city centre.
She added: “The feedback has been positive from the customers and the retailers about the one-way system. People are feeling safe and I think we will start to build on that.”