The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Skye chatbot creator slams tourism body
Row: Group says claims are ‘untrue and offensive’
A row has erupted between the creator of a virtual tourism ambassador for Skye and the island’s tourism management organisation.
Calum MacDonald, the man behind Donald from Skye, has hit out at SkyeConnect after the then-chairwoman wrote to his public relations representatives asking that the launch of his character be delayed to allow for the project to be discussed with the organisation.
A spokesman for SkyeConnect said it was aware of Mr MacDonald’s concerns however there had been “no direct contact, or no grievance raised with SkyeConnect” since the email was sent on November 9 last year.
Mr MacDonald said: “This has caused me a great amount of stress and has been on my back for the best part of a year. I invited SkyeConnect to attend my launch event on Skye ahead of the global launch and none of them showed up. I was so shocked to receive an email just three days later.”
In an email sent by former chairwoman of SkyeConnect, Shirley Spear, she said board members were “alarmed” Mr MacDonald had “launched his own attempt at marketing Skye without consultation with anyone involved with SkyeConnect”.
She requested Mr MacDonald’s PR firm halt the promotion of their client’s new character,
“It was designed to be a tool to assist people visiting Skye”
stating: “I implore you to advise your client to liaise with SkyeConnect’s board of directors on this ‘marketing campaign’.”
Mr MacDonald said: “The whole idea behind my business model was to create this chatbot to address the issues Skye was facing together but SkyeConnect has provided zero support. It was designed to be a tool to assist people visiting Skye and to save the island’s reputation but SkyeConnect has done nothing to help.”
The SkyeConnect spokesman said it has “neither endorsed nor been critical of the Donald from Skye product” saying accusations of SkyeConnect acting in an intimidating and bullying manner are “untrue and offensive”.
He said the ethos of the organisation is to “help and support fledgling businesses and entrepreneurship” to ensure “Skye has a vibrant and sustainable tourism industry”.