Hospitality and tourism chiefs have spoken of the “brutal” conditions facing the sector – with MSPs told customers are resorting to sharing glasses of wine or bowls of soup in a bid to save cash.

Holyrood’s Economy Committee also heard concerns that staff could be bussed in from England to work at the planned new Center Parcs resort in the Scottish Borders if investment in the sector is not forthcoming.

Telling MSPs how pubs and restaurants are now “absolutely desperate to survive”, Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said: “Guests come in and they share a glass of wine now, they are sharing a bowl of soup, because the visitor spend is actually being really compromised.”

He said the “the first half of this year was brutal” for the sector.

Mr Crothall said t

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