MSP explores possibility of ‘protected status’ for Skye

MSP KATE Forbes is exploring the possibility of Skye being given ‘protected status’ to ensure the tourist hotspot remains unspoiled.

Writing on the issue of tourism pressures on the island, Ms Forbes also called for Skye to have a shared transport system for ‘time-poor’ tourists to ease pressure on the island’s creaking roads infrastructure.

Over the past few months the Skye MSP has been discussing the issue extensively with tourism groups, including SkyeConnect, as well as other local businesses and residents and recently spent a week on the island as part of her summer tour. The island’s 10,000-strong population is reported to have grown at least six-fold during the height of the current summer season, exacerbating problems with basic amenities such as toilets, parking and litter bins.

Ms Forbes MSP said what was needed was a map that recognises online travel website TripAdvisor’s huge impact on setting the destination agenda for visitors.

‘We need to help visitors travel to hotspots in another way, not in hundreds of cars or mega-size coaches, but with some sort of shared transport system,’ she stated.

‘It is already happening to some extent, but needs to grow. Tourists want to visit key sites, take a selfie and move on.

‘Let’s help them do that and at the same time take traffic off the road.’

She added: ‘The question is not whether there are too many tourists, but about whether it creates a sustainable future for Skye – permanent jobs, higher incomes and opportunities for entrepreneurs. The state has a role to play. We need to protect the land and alleviate pressure at the pinch points. The sheer numbers walking to the Fairy Pools, or leaving bits and pieces at the Fairy Glen, undermines the marketing man’s definition of Skye as ‘unspoiled’. That’s why I’ve been exploring the possibility of some kind of protected status for Skye which would recognise the incredible geological, natural wealth of Skye.’

Before the summer Ms Forbes organised the first of a series of meetings to identify and find solutions to pressures caused by increases in tourism.

It is hoped the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Fiona Hyslop MSP, will address a gathering of community representatives, local businesses and public bodies at the second meeting later in the year but a date has still to be finalised.