Stunning island is bursting at seams
ISLANDERS on Skye fear online visitor guides are fuelling a surge in tourism that is stretching the island to the limit.
More people than ever are arriving on the island to enjoy the scenery.
The rugged landscape has provided the stunning backdrop to a series of movies, TV shows and pop videos, including the fantasy epic Outlander and a Volvo car advert.
Around 150,000 people passed through VisitScotland’s information centre in Portree last year – up 5% – and this summer is to be even busier.
But islanders believe websites such as TripAdvisor – which lists and reviews the most popular attractions – are driving visitors to a few hotspots putting a strain on roads and facilities.
Photographer Gordon Willoughby, 56, said too many tourists were heading for too few locations, like the Old Man of Storr and the Fairy Glen.
“In the past, tourists would scatter and go across the island – get a map out and find different places. The visitors were spread across the island,” he said.
“But now, with websites like TripAdvisor rating places, all the visitors head to the top three or five sights and ignore the rest – putting strain on the infrastructure.
“People come to most of the places on Skye for the solitude and the tranquility but they arrive in five or six coach loads.
“The Highlands and Islands need tourism. There’s no simple answer.”
Many hotels, guest houses and ferries were fully-booked this summer as visitors flocked to Skye.
A fundraising campaign is under way to fund car parking and new shuttle bus services elsewhere.
Rob Ware, of tourism group Skyeconnect, has called for a longterm plan to manage the island’s visitors.
He said: “We don’t want to turn Skye into Disneyland, but I think there has to be an overall tourism strategy that looks years ahead.”