Copyright shetlandtimes
The few stragglers left behind in Shetland this week while everyone else was sunning themselves in Tenerife will recall that Monday was pretty horrible, as far as weather goes. Nothing out of the ordinary for a mid-October day, but not particularly pleasant all the same. Wet, windy and dark - the usual autumnal delights to fill one full of enthusiasm for the winter still to come. So it was with great comic timing that a press release from VisitScotland arrived in our inbox telling us about its new initiative to attract “off-season” tourists. Thanks to a new £2 million grant from the Scottish government, the public tourism body will be aiming to attract both domestic and international visitors to the isles in the less busy months. Shetland development manager Steve Mathieson said that over the coming year VisitScotland would be working to shine a spotlight on the country’s various strengths including its “natural beauty, unique experiences and warm hospitality”. Looking away from the press release to the delightful weather out of the window, I thought Mr Mathieson may have his work cut out. It’s hard to see much of the natural beauty when it’s shrouded in thick cloud and driving rain, and while getting soaking wet in record time may be a unique experience, I’m not sure it’s what most tourists are looking for. As for the “warm hospitality” - good luck finding anywhere that’s open. Lerwick’s pretty much been a ghost town this week as many businesses have shut up shop for a well deserved break. Of course, VisitScotland can’t be blamed for the timing of its press release. And any extra funding to support the tourism industry is to be welcomed (although some may argue it would have been better spent on retaining the town’s tourist centre) But there is a broader point to be made about all the time, money and effort that goes on promoting the isles as a place to “live, work, study and invest”, as the SIC mantra goes. As well as VisitScotland’s latest campaign, the SIC has spent six-figure sums on the Promote Shetland service to attract people to the isles on a more permanent basis. It is certainly true that growing the population, or at least halting its decline, is an important aspiration, if only to ensure there are enough people to deliver public services, open businesses and generally keep the economy going. But if you ask most people in Shetland what needs to be done to support population growth they will probably give you the same answer - more housing. There’s very little point in marketing Shetland as this magical land of far away wonder, if people can find nowhere to live if they decide they do want to come here. You just have to look on social media to see all the poor souls making hopeful requests for accommodation only to be told they’d have better luck finding a room in the Lost City of Atlantis, to see how hopeless the situation has become. To be fair, VisitScotland and Promote Shetland have specific remits to fulfil and delivering new housing is not one of them. But until some of the basic problems have been addressed, these remits seem futile at best and may even be worsening the situation. Thankfully, new housing is on its way at the Knab and Staneyhill. But it’s a slow process - not helped by the fact that these are complex developments requiring lots of preparatory work before the first houses are built. And it’s not just the lack of housing that is making it hard to attract people to the isles. With transport costs rising ever higher, and capacity on the NorthLink ferries also an issue, there are frequent reports of islanders moving to the mainland because they can no longer afford the cost of living here. And then there’s all the recent issues with the Shefa-2 cable break leaving many people without internet for weeks on end. While some may consider broadband to be a luxury, in the modern age it should be a basic necessity - a necessity that has been denied to many of us. Postal services have also been a challenge. No one is blaming the hard working posties for their efforts but like many services, recruitment and retention has been an issue - and once again the lack of housing plays its part. So while the support for tourism and government funding is to be welcomed, there are clearly more pressing issues that need to be sorted out first as an urgent priority. Shetland may never be free from wet and windy autumnal days, but we should at least be able to expect adequate housing, broadband and other basic services. And until those things are sorted everything else seems like a distraction. Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.
