Food hall attraction at iconic Eilean Donan Castle a welcome use of 'joined-up thinking', says business group chief

Eilean Donan Castle’s new food hall is a classic example of the joined-up thinking that’s breathing new life into tourism in Ross-shire.

That's the view of David Richardson who is well aware of the challenges facing many small businesses facing multiple challenges.

The Highlands and Islands manager of the Federation of Small Business said: "Rather than focussing solely on their own operations, businesses are increasingly appreciating the merits of collaborating and cooperating to make visitors’ holiday experiences even more special. Ultimately, it’s about encouraging them to spend more time and money in the area and to return in future, also known as slow tourism.

"And Ross-shire has so much to offer people who have been cooped up at home for most of the past two years: scenery, wide open spaces, natural and cultural attractions, activities, accommodation, locally produced food and drink… all packed into a comparatively small but extremely diverse geography."

He said it was too early to determine the prospects for 2022. He said: "Having attended countless meetings and spoken to many FSB members, the general opinion is that bookings are OK, but not as good as 2019. The UK market appears to be fairly promising, but the number of high-spending international visitors looks like being down by quite a bit. Moreover, while bookings were coming in nicely over the winter, many report that they have slowed since the Russians invaded Ukraine.

He said: "Sadly, however, ‘OK bookings’ does not mean OK businesses. Many are carrying debt built up during Covid, while costs, especially utility bills, are rising faster than anyone thought possible. In most cases these cannot be absorbed and must be passed on to customers, making Highland holidays more expensive still. However, I spoke to one Highland hotelier who is honouring bookings from coach operators that couldn’t be taken in 2020 and have been carried forward to 2022. He is having to charge the original, agreed prices, despite having seen his costs rise massively in the interim. I’m sure that he is not alone."

Many employers are short-staffed and cutting back on hours, upsetting customers in the process. A new survey suggests 40 per cent of Scottish firms believe a lack of access to staff is a barrier to their growth. He said: "Little wonder that some contracts to run seasonal tourism businesses are not being let, while other businesses are simply not reopening."

Mr Richardson said: "We must all hope that the situation in Ukraine and our relationship with Russia both improve dramatically, and soon; that world trade, world travel, inflation and commodity and retail prices return to pre-Covid levels; that it becomes much easier and cheaper for businesses to recruit and accommodate staff from elsewhere, especially abroad; and, of course, that we’ve seen the end of new Covid variants. Then we can all breathe a huge sigh of relief and relax, for things have been tense for far too long.

"But in the meantime we are not impotent locally, completely at the mercy of others’ whims. We have spending power, and the more we all use it to support our local businesses the more we are doing to help and protect our local economies and communities. And ‘we’ includes Highland Council. If the new Highland Council adopts the measures set out in the ‘Power of Local’ manifesto that FSB Scotland designed for it for next week’s elections, then that will help enormously."

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