A Perthshire businessman has warned Brexit will be a disaster for the local hospitality industry.

George Chalmers (right), who brings members of staff from Eastern Europe to work in hotels and restaurants in Perth and Kinross, has said the industry is facing a crisis.

The UK will leave the EU on Friday, January 31, with freedom of movement stopping at the end of this year.

But George, who has previously supplied staff to a number of local hotels and restaurants such as Gleneagles, Killiecrankie Hotel, Moulin Inn and the Horn Milk Bar through his company Hotel Jobs International, says he is already seeing the negative impact of Brexit on the hospitality industry.

He said: “I supply staff to a large number of hotels, and I have always been able to supply staff without any problem at all.

“I bring staff across on demand from Eastern Europe directly to the employer, or I take an

employer across there to do a recruitment drive.

“Whenever I have done it in the past, we have large numbers of staff queuing up waiting to be interviewed, but since Brexit was announced, it is fair to say the people don’t want to come anymore.

“The number of people applying has dropped away dramatically.

“Last year was a disaster - I went to Budapest to dig up some cover for the Christmas and New Year period for a couple of hotels and normally I would have 40 or 50 people turn up, but this time I had just three in total.

“It is all down to Brexit.

“A lot of people don’t want to come here because of the exchange rate, so they are going to work in the Mediterranean instead, and those from northern Europe are going to Germany, Holland and Denmark.

“There is also perceptions of racism as well - a lot of people are asking what the racism is like in Scotland, and I always say ‘we welcome you, we are not racist’.”

George says a number of hotels are already struggling with a lack of staff, and warns this will only get worse when freedom of movement ends.

He continued: “Everywhere I go I am hearing there is no staff available.

“Traditionally, if someone wanted hotel staff they would come to me and I would get them someone from Eastern Europe.

“But last year it was such a struggle, it really impacted on my business, and I don’t know what will happen this year.

“Once freedom of movement ends, folk from Eastern Europe won’t be able to come here to work anymore.

“After the end of freedom of movement, it will be a disaster, it will be a crisis.

“It won’t be so bad this year, but after December 31 there will be an absolute crisis in every corner of Scotland.

“The local staff don’t want to do or are not able to do hospitality work.

“If you have a wee hamlet where there is only a hotel, there are no local staff, so they are desperate for staff.

“I have to be blunt about it, it is absolutely desperate.

“The industry is 100 per cent going to suffer, no ifs or buts.”

George has also said he believes many people living in the UK do not know they also will not be able to go and work in the EU after the end of freedom of movement.

As well as bringing staff from Europe across to the UK to work, he also gets British people to go and work in the winter ski seasons in the French Alps.

He added: “The companies I am dealing with are extremely worried.

“There is going to be a massive problem because British people will not be able to go across to Spain or Greece to work for the summer.”