Lochaber must be street prepared for tourism surge says tourism chief

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A Fort William tourism boss is asking road authorities to do their part before the predicted surge in tourism overwhelms the area’s roads.

Visit Fort William Ltd has already seen an increase in traffic to its destination website. Despite confidence in local businesses preparing for the influx, managing director Andrew McKenna fears a similar spike in roads in the area could spell disaster.

“It would be good if the road authorities immediately started repairs on our roundabouts at Lochy Bridge and Glen Nevis – and repaired the ever-growing stretches of road surface that collapsed from potholes,” he said.

“We just hope they don’t wait for the road to be blocked before they start.

“The roundabout on Lochy Bridge and the surface of the A82 (BEAR Scotland) road outside the entrance to Ben Nevis Distillery – one of our most popular visitor centers – are nothing short of appalling and become increasingly dangerous as drivers try to avoid the holes.”

The Highland Council was asked last week to comment on local pavement problems in Lochaber, but had not responded when we went to print on Tuesday. However, a statement by Council Chair Margaret Davidson on the Highland Council website said: “The effects of the pandemic have delayed much of the work over the past year, and now that the storm period is over we can focus back on finalizing that Program of repairs and improvements. ‘

Last week, the Scottish Tourism Alliance announced figures compiled by researchers at 53 Degree Insight after polls in March showed that the highlands were high on the list of Scottish stays after restrictions were lifted.

Fifty-one percent of respondents plan to visit the Highlands.

Local businesses are currently updating their listings to bring them up to date and to reflect any renovations that have been done over the winter.

“We expect a big surge in visitor numbers to the city if they escape the lockdown in the suburbs once our governments open the gates,” added McKenna.

“We are confident that local traders are also preparing to do new business for the coming season. Many locals will be back to work and wish them all the best for 2021.”

With travel restrictions across Scotland expected to rise from level four to level three on April 26, visitor numbers can be expected to surge in May. 17 percent of stays in Scotland are expected to take place before the end of June.

In the meantime, the Fort William Town team was out to make sure the area was up to date before the influx.

City team secretary Karen Dean said to us, “The city team looks forward to making Fort William a place to stay for people when they can travel freely again.

“The shops, local businesses and the community are all so badly affected by the pandemic that it will be nice when something returns to normal.

‘The Town Team has worked hard behind the scenes to make their annual projects come true for this year. Our first event in 2021 will be a big spring clean on April 25th to spruce up the High Street and surrounding areas before visitors arrive. ‘

Details on the @trashfreetrails spring cleaning initiative can be found on the Town Team’s Facebook page.

Motorists can report potholes using the online form on the council’s website www.highland.gov.uk/report