Diary of a Shopkeeper, 14th July 2024

Liner visitors are the most visible, because lots of them appear at the same time – and because their ships are unmissable. Small sailing boats slip in under the radar, but also in great numbers. Independent travellers fill self-catering units and B&Bs across the Mainland and the isles. Campervans and tents fill the campsites. Boldly branded minibuses cross the Firth and whisk visitors around on sightseeing tours, or wildlife tours, or archaeological tours. Local minibuses do the same and more, with expert Orcadian guides. Bird-watchers, trout-fishers, craft-trailers, seal-spotters, culture-vultures, whisky-lovers – they all come to Orkney.

It’s an amazingly diverse mosaic of different interests and motives. But they all have one thing in common: they all need information.

Every day of the summer, visiting customers lean across the cheese counter and ask us for information. Which whisky or gin distilleries can they visit? Where best to see puffins? Where best to find fresh seafood? (Ask the puffins.)

Can they get a bus to Skara Brae? Can they get a bus to Edinburgh? Can they get a flight from Westray to Papay? Where can they hear some live music? Is the beer good? Is the cheese good? Can they go wild camping? Is the Ring of Brodgar a good place to pitch a tent? (No.) Have the hotels any vacancies? (Yes, for staff.)

They have half an hour spare: can they visit the Old Man of Hoy? They have a day spare: can they visit Skye? They have a year spare: can they come and live here?

VisitScotland would argue that all of these questions should have been answered in advance, if the visitors had only used their noggins and searched online before leaving Wolverhampton or Wisconsin. “We found the majority of visitors are inspired, plan and book through online sources or travel agents before they leave home,” a spokesperson told The Orcadian recently.

Of course they booked their ferries and flights before they got here! They wouldn’t have got here if they hadn’t. And of course the vast majority of them booked accommodation in advance too. But that’s not the end of the information that visitors need. And it’s not the end of the information we should be dying to impart so they have the best time possible – and put as much money as possible into our fragile economy.

If my wee shop hidden down its shady lane is asked a hundred questions a day, imagine how many questions the tourist information centre get asked. Thousands! Visitors’ need for information does not stop when they’ve booked a hotel and a ferry. Plans change daily as the weather changes, or as they become aware of new possibilities. Asking local people with local knowledge is by far the best way to find nuanced advice, reflective of individual needs and preferences.

In the face of the obvious and growing need for tourist information, what can possibly be the justification for VisitScotland closing the iCentre, as is firmly scheduled to happen next year?

I asked my knowledgeable and helpful contact within VisitScotland. “The clue’s in the name,” she said. “Our job is to inspire people to visit Scotland. Once they get here it’s someone else’s job to look after them.” But whose job? No one seems sure.

All of us who run businesses used by tourists will do our best. But we can’t be expected to be familiar with bus timetables, with the best time to cross to the Brough of Birsay, with which historic sites are suitable for wheelchair users. Serious questions those – they need to be answered by well trained, specialist staff, not wine merchants trying their best while juggling bottles of Rioja and lumps of Manchego.

Tourism is one of the most important industries for the Orkney economy. It brings in millions of pounds every year, and supports hundreds of jobs directly and indirectly. Its success backs up, and primes the market for, our exports of food, drink and craft – even music. It seems like VisitScotland are not going to budge on their plan to close the iCentre. Which means it’s imperative that the only body big enough to organise and fund a replacement – Orkney Islands Council – steps up to the mark, and quickly.

This diary appeared in The Orcadian on 18h July 2024. A new diary appears weekly. I post them in this blog a few days after each newspaper appearance, with added illustrations, and occasional small corrections or additions.