Slowdown prompts tourism fears

Sector believes global credit crunch, plus effects of Grangemouth strike and fuel costs to blame

By Susy Macaulay

Published:

There were fears of a tourism downturn in the Highlands and islands last night as hoteliers, tour guides, and retailers and other businesses which cater for the sector reported a worrying slowdown in trade.

Industry insiders believe the global credit crunch, the effects of the Grangemouth fuel strike and the price of fuel has led to a nervousness in the sector which could result in job cuts.

Yesterday, hoteliers as far apart as Inverness and the Western Isles reported a downturn in bookings compared with the same period last year. In Badenoch and Strathspey, there were reports of cafes being forced to close early due to a lack of tourist trade. Visitors to the tourist information centre in Inverness also dropped in April, compared with April last year. Last night, Visit-Scotland blamed the drop on the early Easter.

Many industry leaders believe the high cost of fuel is keeping tourists away and could drive down their profits, despite spells of good weather. They said some visitors were under the impression the north is still suffering from a fuel shortage.

Meanwhile, visitors to Perthshire are booking short breaks rather than a traditional fortnight’s holiday, it was claimed yesterday.

Paul Shields, vice-president of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, said hoteliers can expect an “up-and-down” season. He said visitors and businesses are being prudent when faced with rising food and fuel costs. “It’s what we are calling a flat market – it’s holding its own against last year, but it won’t be showing any sign of strength,” he said. “They are not having the same thrust of leisure breaks being booked. People have certainly seen things slowing down over the past four to six weeks. I don’t think there’s going to be a credit crash.

“The general feeling is there is going to be more home-grown short breaks with people having two or three nights away, rather than a fortnight’s holiday, and that will probably see us through.” He said the positive news for visitors is that a number of good offers for short breaks are available.

Perth’s 84-room Salutation Hotel is enjoying a buoyant week with crowds visiting for Perth races. Hotel manager Gordon Paterson said: “At the moment we are having quite a good season, which has been strengthened by our domestic market. Where we have seen an increase is the smaller ad hoc domestic groups, as opposed to large companies sending groups overseas.”

But Kerry Bott, manager of the Palace Hotel at Aberfeldy, said there has been a very slow start to the season. She said: “With Easter being early, it’s knocked things out of sync a bit. It’s doing quite well now, it’s starting to pick up and the weather is helping a lot. We’ve got a lot of bookings coming in, mostly domestic, from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.”