FIFTY YEARS AGO Thursday March 2, 1972

The tourist boom is on

Mr Lachlan McKinnon, the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islay tourist officer, this week reported bumper bookings for the coming season.

Talking to a Courier man, Mr McKinnon said that there had been a tremendous boom in the self-catering type of holiday.

In fact, the association’s list of cottages, chalets and so on has become exhausted with the result that the months of June, July, August up until the middle of September are fully booked.

A total of 3,000 inquiries were dealt with in the association’s Campbeltown headquarters by the end of February, an increase of 600 on last year.

Mr McKinnon said he hoped the upward trend in self-catering holidays would continue further and preparations would be made to meet with the demand.

It is hoped that the Arran-Kintyre ferry service proposed for this summer will be successful.

Mr McKinnon’s plan is to bombard the landing jetty at Claonaig with advertising literature in an attempt to induce motorists south to Campbeltown.

He feels strongly that the local authority, hoteliers and businessmen should spend more on advertising nationally in an all-out effort to attract tourism to the burgh.

‘Unfortunately the tourist association does not have the money to advertise a specific place. We can only advertise the whole area, which is very large,’ he explained.

‘But a town of this size could do a lot more in the way of advertising.’

The caravan sites around Campbeltown are among the best in the west of Scotland, Mr McKinnon added.

Caravanning, he says, is up and coming in the popularity stakes among holidaymakers.