06 May, 2009

I mentioned previously in my column that I'd spoken to Highlands and Islands Enterprise about John O'Groats – I'm therefore delighted to see that the progress it briefed me on is being made.

HIE has now commissioned consultants to develop a masterplan for John O'Groats, and hope that this will be completed in the late summer.

Carol Gunn, of HIE, has made it clear that all stakeholders will be consulted.

It is very important that those who live and work in the area have their say, so now is the time to do that.

There is very real potential for the whole area from this development.

Name recognition has never been a problem, therefore we need to make sure that the experience for the visitor is good, encouraging them to stay longer in the area, signposting them to other visitor attractions and persuading them to spend their hard-earned cash for the good of the Caithness economy.

People who do have a good experience tend to return to an area and they also give personal recommendations.

We already have a lot of visitors in John O'Groats but we struggle to keep them there more than a few minutes.

If we can offer a wide enough range of activities we can keep them longer and persuade them to return.

We have a lot to offer.

There is the iconic status of John O'Groats but we also have scenery and wildlife, and the development of renewables will also become a pull as people become more and more environmentally aware.

There is also ferry traffic – that always creates opportunities.

People travelling are quite happy to stop off and add something else to their trip.

As John O'Groats develops there is an untapped market of ferry passengers who will add a visit to their holiday.

I was recently looking at tours in Orkney and noticed that one of the tour companies there was offering a day tour package that picked you up from the first ferry and put you back on the last one!

The fact it was on an island was no barrier to its customer base.

Rather than being seen as competition there are real opportunities for Caithness and Orkney to work together to provide a really good visitor experience.

Tourist and infrastructure are all well and good but the most important ingredient is people, folk who are warm and welcoming – and we have them.

It is therefore very important that they are at the heart of this development.

I wait with interest to see how this develops.