New McLaren hotel will give the island economy £1m boost

An economic impact appraisal into the development has been carried out by Bellerby Economics. It states: ‘The proposed redevelopment of the McLaren Hotel has the potential to provide a boost to the economy of Arran as it is expected to bring additional visitors and new jobs to the island. It will also replace a current run-down eyesore with a modern attractive new building; this is important in this location, highly visible to tourists arriving by ferry.

‘As a result of the closure of the McLaren Hotel, there are no mid-range offerings on the island. The hotel development proposal aims to fill that gap by providing a high quality, affordable hotel.

‘The aim is both to increase the total number of visitors to the island and to encourage day trippers to stay longer. The target market is both families and workers, as well as golfers, hikers and walkers.

‘This will place pressure on other accommodation providers on the island who employ staff at similar skills levels, who currently are experiencing difficulties recruiting staff. This suggests that there is a pool of non-working labour within North Ayrshire that could fill hospitality vacancies, particularly as the McLaren Hotel is committed to providing training and aims to manage and develop the team skills across every level and promote from within.

‘We estimate that the number of McLaren Hotel guests in a single year will be 31,536, and assuming an average daily expenditure away from the hotel of £50, the hotel guests will spend £1,576,800 in the local economy.’