Scott Wright: Ferry crisis holding back vital Scottish industry

This has resulted in the value of spending by overseas tourists in Scotland exceeding that by domestic visitors for the first time. Figures published in May revealed foreign visitors spent £3.59 billion in Scotland in 2023, versus the outlay of £3.2bn by domestic travellers.

Ms Miller, a VisitScotland stalwart of nearly two decades, conceded the domestic market is still being held back by the cost of living crisis. But she declared that domestic tourists retain a “strong intent” to visit Scotland.

Expanding on the reasons behind Scottish tourism’s success on the world stage, Ms Miller pinpointed the work VisitScotland carried out during the dark days of lockdown to ensure Scotland remained “front of mind” among international tourists when they time finally came to think about booking holidays again.

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Ms Miller, whose career in tourism has spanned a variety of crises, from the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 2001 to the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US, told The Herald: “We did not go quiet during Covid. We continued as an organisation to keep Scotland front of mind through all of our channels, and the relationships we have with travel and lifestyle media and travel intermediaries in our markets that we knew would be critical to selling Scotland when travel was able to begin again.”

Given the massive impact which the Covid-19 crisis had on international travel, it is hugely encouraging that visits to Scotland from overseas have rebounded so emphatically, even if there is certainly scope for the domestic market to improve.

But at the same time there are major structural problems in Scotland that seem to be undermining its appeal as a tourism destination.

Perhaps the most high-profile impediment to Scottish tourism’s prospects are the ongoing woes of the ferry fleet, which through a combination of ageing vessels and the late delivery of new additions are causing people to think twice about travelling to the west coast.

This worry is never far from the minds of islanders who depend on the ferries not just to transport tourists but to reach for the mainland for personal and business needs themselves.

Responding to news of the latest delay on the delivery of the Glen Sannox, one of two ferries ordered by the Scottish Government from Ferguson Marine to serve the Clyde and Hebrides network back in 2017 (it will not now come into service until the end of the year), Isle of Arran hotelier Emily McIntosh said the unreliability of the fleet affects business “a lot, of course, because I am tourism-based”.

“We need people to get people here so I can run my business,” she declared in an interview on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.

Asked how often people are unable to reach Arran or leave the island as planned, Ms McIntosh, who runs the Monamore Guest House in Lamlash, said: “Both things happen, in equal amounts. This has been the worst year on record for technical faults. When you live on an island, you have to expect some sort of ferry disruption that is weather related. It is particularly bad at the moment because of the ageing vessels in the fleet. This means more technical faults, but I think there has been some disruption every week that is technical and or weather-related.”

Asked whether the unreliability of the ferry system is affecting bookings, Ms McIntosh added: “This year, yes. The people that I know that work in accommodation… we have noticed a drop in bookings this year. It must be partly due to the bad press that the island is getting, which is such a shame because Arran is fantastic. We need tourism. The island, all the islands, will die without tourism. We really need it.

“Yes, there has been a notable drop in bookings. It is putting people off coming. The ferries are so unreliable.”

Without rehearsing the long-running political fall-out surrounding the Ferguson ferries debacle, it seems clear that the hopes and aspirations of Scottish tourism are being held back by the deficiencies of the ferry fleet. If tourists perceive there is a risk they may not reach their holiday destination, or will be delayed on their return because ferries will break down or are called to serve other routes, they will look elsewhere. Scotland may have plenty of tourist attractions and interesting and scenic places to visit, but in an intensely competitive global market it has to demonstrate its transport network is reliable as a minimum requirement.

Yet it would be wrong to say the problems on the west coast ferry network represent the only stumbling block Scottish tourism faces. It was certainly encouraging to read recently that the number of visitors to Glasgow soared by 26.6% to nearly 26 million in 2023, fuelled by the Banksy exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art and the UCI Cycling World Championships taking place in Scotland’s biggest city. Those visitors spent £2.35 billion, an increase of 48.6% on 2022, according to figures from Scottish Tourism Economic Impact Model.

But while such data have to be welcome, anyone familiar with Glasgow in its current state will know that there are huge challenges for the city to address. Protracted renovation works on Sauchiehall Street, vacant shop units, and the generally poor condition of the city centre do not make it a pleasant place to visit. Moreover, the prospect of a further 11 major projects to improve the appearance of major streets, due to begin early next year, will not help this image in the short run, even if the longer-term objectives are clear.

Any country that boasts the depth of attractions Scotland has to offer, be it historical, cultural or scenic, will always stand a chance in the international tourism stakes. But Scotland could certainly be doing a better job of maximising its many assets by getting the basics right.