DAVID SUTHERLAND: Time, money and vision is being invested in tourism
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The next few weeks and months will be vital for the wellbeing of the hospitality and tourism sector which sustains hundreds of jobs in the Inverness area.
Will staffing shortages bite hard? Will the rising fuel prices deter some from a Highland holiday? Will the rising cost of living lead to people shortening their visit? What effect will the Ukraine war have on the supply chain?
These questions will be answered soon – and I hope the optimism I’ve detected among local accommodation providers is borne out.
My own business, Ness Castle Lodges, has healthy bookings, mainly from the UK, and that seems to be a common theme as US visitors are not venturing over here in previous numbers.
Many local folk don’t realise the central social and economic value the industry – which accounts for up to 43 per cent of all jobs in some rural parts of the Highlands – brings to our city and communities.
There are some 3000 Highland tourism businesses – and local food and drink suppliers, joiners, painters, builders and IT firms all depend on business from these firms.
Before the pandemic, the Highland visitor spend was £1.5 billion but a HIE study last autumn estimated that visitor spend had declined by up to £580 million in the 2020/21 financial year.
That’s a hefty wedge to take out of the local economy – and it’s important that visitor spend recovers significantly in the coming weeks and months.
The closer we can get to the 2019 levels, when
2.9 million overnight visits were a 30 per cent jump on the previous year, the healthier it will be for Inverness and the wider area. The growth in overnight tourism in the Highlands was much more significant than the Scottish average, 23 per cent compared to 11 per cent.
So we were going strongly in the right direction – until Covid-19 threw a spanner in the works.
A year ago, when Fergus Ewing MSP was tourism minister, he invited me on to a small group to advise on the issues arising out of the pandemic’s effect on the industry. I held meetings as far north as Wick with hoteliers, caravan park and campsite owners, and self-catering operators and reported back on my findings of what was needed. Fergus is no longer tourism minister, which is a pity for the area.
Brexit has seen many talented Europeans leave their hotels and restaurants locally for jobs within the EU – and that’s continuing to prove a real headache for tourism employers.
The local market simply isn’t filling the gap at enough volume. Some hospitality operators have had to close on certain
days to allow staff to get time off.
Visitors aren’t impressed when they see ‘closed’ signs!
We need to get the message across to local young people that tourism and hospitality offers good skills training and future employment prospects.
We need HIE, Highland Council and, most of all, the Scottish Government to do as much as they can to enable the sector to return to the growth curve.
The sector locally is looking at innovative ways of doing business. Operators are investing time, money and vision in expanding our tourism market. They are doing so against a backdrop of sharply rising heat and light bills and supply issues.
They need our backing!
David Sutherland is an Inverness businessman.
