Ferry failures damaging tourism on the Isle of Arran
The beautiful Island of Arran usually sees an influx of tourists in the spring but ferry cancellations are putting visitors off. Lucette Wood reports
The Isle of Arran, like many of Scotland’s islands relies on tourism as a major part of their economy, and unreliable ferry services are having an impact on tourist numbers this season.
Climbing Goat Fell mountain is one of the most popular activities to do in one of Scotland’s most popular destinations, yet on a sporadically nice spring day, there isn’t a soul other than myself around. The appeal of visiting a beautiful peaceful Scottish island is usually high on visitors lists but this season many are opting to skip it because it’s a bit of an ordeal to get here.
The Island is one of Scotland’s most popular tourist destinations, often being referred to as Scotland in miniature as the island has a blend of the country’s iconic landscapes from lowland meadows to mountainous highlands.
In 2019, 441,000 tourists visited the island, bringing in an estimated £69 million. The last three years have been difficult for tourism due to covid uncertainty with the current cost of living crisis local businesses were hoping for a return to pre-covid figures. Before the pandemic, there was an upward trend in overnight visitors in Scotland with 2019 being the best performing year from over the last decade.
A combination of an ageing fleet and a new ticketing service is causing the issues, the island usually has two vessels taking passengers two and from the island but currently is down to one vessel.
Sheila Gilmore is the Chief Executive of the destination management organisation Visit Arran and the tourism representative on the Arran Ferry Committee. She said: “Every business in Arran is impacted by tourism. It’s everybody’s business. Our colleagues up in the north of Scotland, the North Coast 500, Skye, they are all having really good seasons. We are not and you have to say to yourself why is that?”
There is also concern about negative media of ferry cancellations putting visitors off and causing reputational damage. Gilmore said: “On the island, it is everywhere you go, people talk about the ferries all the time and it’s depressing for visitors as well because if they do get here, that’s all they hear all the time. It’s not a positive scenario for anybody.”
The Moffat Centre is a consultancy and research centre for tourism and travel. A representative from the centre said: “Consumer sentiment studies over the years regularly show that convenience and ease of travel are key factors for tourism perception of a destination, therefore any barrier to travel to a visitor’s destination will not be favourable in a visitor review and word of mouth or consumer-generated reviews are a major factor in how others view a destination.
“Based on anecdotal evidence from island tourism businesses, the ongoing ferry situation is seen as a burden to operation. Therefore tourism is an important creator of enterprise and jobs for island communities and as a contributor to the local economy.”
A lack of tourists has an impact on businesses across the whole island. Gilmore said: “If all of our accommodation providers are struggling with people cancelling and not booking that impacts the discretional spend across the whole island. It means that there are less people to spend money in the shops, in the cafes, the bars, the restaurants and on activities.”
The ferry cancellations don’t just impact tourists visiting the island, residents on the island are becoming increasingly frustrated and left feeling isolated by the unreliable service and the impact this is having on their daily lives. The ferries are a lifeline to daily life on the island with stock levels in shops, education and even medical care all being impacted by cancellations.
Gilmore said: “I feel very let down by everyone up there in Holyrood. None of them are islanders. They haven’t a clue about the impact it has on your life. Every MSP in Holyrood just sat there and watched this happen and now they are using it to win votes. It’s not about that, it’s about people’s lives.”
These Ferry issues are not exclusive to Arran, many of Scotland Islands are being hit with similar cancellations and breakdowns of old boats. New boats are being deployed but have been met with delays and there is debate about which vessels are deployed to which ports. Day trippers have recently been advised against visiting the Isle of Mull due to the issues.
Ferry operator CalMac introduced a new ticketing system at the start of May but since the introduction it has been hit with bugs causing more issues with overbookings and cancellations.
Whilst the nature activities, wildlife and beauty means that the island will be a tourist destination for years to come and it is unlikely to lose its appeal. The short time issues will mean that many local businesses which gave the island some of its character will be forever lost.
