The Scottish Tourism Alliance has Commenting on the Scottish Government’s announcement that the two vessels currently being built will not be delivered until next summer and spring 2020,
The organisation said the announcement of further delays in the delivery of the two newly commissioned Cal Mac vessels is “beyond disappointing.”
Chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), Marc Crothall, said: ““There is critical urgency for increased ferry capacity on Hebridean routes to service the demand by visitors who wish to visit, stay and explore the islands and visitor attractions.”
► New Western Isles ferry will be two years late
He added: “The STA has raised frequent concerns to Cabinet Ministers and Transport Scotland regarding the provision of the existing fleet in terms of capacity and the fact that these ships are ageing, with a slow pipeline of replacement.
“Ian Fordham, chair of Outer Hebrides Tourism (OHT), one of destination organisations that sits on the STA Member Council has also been very active in highlighting and communicating what has now become unacceptable situation causing a barrier to growing tourism in the islands in recent weeks to senior officials politicians and the media.”
“The vast majority of ferries assigned to these routes are currently running at full capacity in an already stretched network and tourism operators and accommodation providers are being left with no option but to turn away business as a result of there being no space to travel.
“As we head towards to 2020 which will be promoted as the Year of Scotland’s Coast and Waters, demand and interest to travel and explore our islands is only likely to increase and it is essential that Scotland is seen to be offering our national ferry fleet at full strength.
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “While this further delay to the two new ferries is disappointing, it is important to focus on the fact that we will have two new ships joining the fleet serving the Clyde and Hebrides network that have been built in Scotland, providing vital support to our ship building industry.”
He added: “Over £1 billion has been invested in ferry services across the Clyde and Hebrides since 2007, including the MV Loch Seaforth and harbour upgrades at Stornoway and Ullapool. We are continuing to invest in new vessels and ferry infrastructure to renew the fleet.
“Work is also already underway to appraise, and subsequently to deliver on, further
improvements to the ferry services to the Western Isles, including the important
Ullapool-
“Critical urgency” for more ferries says tourism body
18 August 2018
