OPINION: Demographic timebomb means we must invest in Ross-shire's lifeblood sector
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As has been so often said, tourists moving around the Highlands are the lifeblood that sustains businesses, communities and our way of life. Tourism and hospitality businesses provide many of the much-needed jobs that retain young people and families in countless communities, and without tourism, many, many shops, restaurants, leisure facilities and so on would close and their communities struggle to survive.
Some rightly argue that there’s more to the Highlands than tourism and that we should be encouraging other industries and sectors. But nothing else can, or for the foreseeable future will, approach tourism’s massive financial contribution to communities across the region. The reality is that our demographic timebomb is ticking away and throughout most of the Highlands our population is both aging and declining, and if we want to create truly vibrant communities that people of all ages want to live in, we must do everything in our power to nurture quality tourism.
However, while the importance of tourism and hospitality businesses to the Scottish economy and their vulnerability to the severe financial impacts of the virus are recognised by the Scottish Government, and account for the unprecedented levels of financial support that it is providing to keep businesses alive, tourism has for long been a Cinderella industry.
"Bad or inadequate infrastructure is the antithesis of quality tourism, leading to damage, mess, poor visitor perceptions of the region and upset – and occasionally stressed locals, and responsibility for providing essential infrastructure rests with the public sector."
Investment in the essential infrastructure that enables holiday destinations like Ross-shire to work has not kept pace with growing and evolving visitor demand for years. This deficiency has been thrown into sharp relief both by the advent of the NC500 and, last summer, by the great wave of staycationers, many of them visiting the Highlands for the first, and quite possibly last, time because they couldn’t go abroad. The resulting strain on infrastructure and communities is obvious.
Quality tourism is about ensuring that every single element of a holiday is top-notch. We have world-class landscapes, natural and cultural heritage and activities, and our businesses must be world-class too, as must the warmth of our welcomes. But it doesn’t stop there. Visitors should also expect to find fit-for-purpose infrastructure, including roads, rail, air, ferries and car parks, plus essential public toilets and waste collection points.
Bad or inadequate infrastructure is the antithesis of quality tourism, leading to damage, mess, poor visitor perceptions of the region and upset – and occasionally stressed locals, and responsibility for providing essential infrastructure rests with the public sector.
Taken together, the Scottish Government’s Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund, combined with the Highland Council’s commitment to invest £1.5 million on things like roads, parking, visitor management, public toilets and litter collection as part of its new Visitor Management Strategy, are very welcome indeed. However, the former covers Scotland as a whole, and when spread across a region 24 per cent larger than Wales, the latter is a drop in the ocean.
Highland tourism is not a lame duck in need of public subsidy; it is a vibrant, growing industry with enormous potential. Both the Scottish Government and Highland Council have taken big steps forward, but now, supported by the UK Government, they must play their parts to the full. Visitors want to spend money here and governments must help them do so. And one final point: the money to pay for the infrastructure should not come from a dangerous tourist bed tax, or ‘Transient Visitor Levy’ – more creativity required.
David Richardson is the development manager Highlands and Islands of the Federation of Small Businesses
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