By Hugh Boag
The number of tourists visiting Arran last year broke the 400,000 barrier for the first time – generating £61 million for the island’s economy.
The news comes after it was revealed that there was another big increase in the number of passengers carried by Caledonian MacBrayne on the two Arran routes last year.
A total 0f 455,717 return journeys were made to Arran last year – that’s 54,000 more than 10 years ago, with numbers rising even faster since the introduction of RET fares.
However, these figures are for all crossings including those by residents and businesses, which, it is estimated make up more than 50,000 crossings, taking visitor numbers over 400,000.
But it is not an exact science with the statistics from STEAM (Scottish Tourism Economic Activity Monitor), a respected tool used by most local authorities to gauge their tourism statistics, say 434,000 visited the island in 2017, but that number seems a bit high.
Whatever the exact figure tourism on Arran is certainly ending the year on a positive note and can look forward to a bright 2019.
Executive director of VisitArran Sheila Gilmore said: ‘Tourism on Arran continues to grow, and this is a reflection of the hard work put in by Arran’s businesses. Not all of these are direct tourism providers, but all contrinute greatly to our visitor offering. Looking ahead to the Spring we have exciting developments such as the new Lagg Distillery and the reopening of Brodick Castle, both of which will greatly enhance the island for us all – residents, locals and community.’
Meanwhile, a breakdown of the CalMac passenger figures show that a total of 844,198 passengers made the Ardrossan to Brodick crossing in 2017 – and increase of 15,936 on the previous year and representing a 1.9 per cent rise. The total number of cars carried over the 12 months was up 2,634 to 205,477, a 1.3 per cent rise.
Surprisingly the number of coaches using the service fell to 594 down 25, representing a 4.04 per cent drop. The total number of commericial vehicles also fell to 9,838, down 269 or by 2.65 per cent.
The Claonaig to Lochranza route also saw a slight rise in passengers from 66,460 to 67,236 up 776 or 1.17 per cent. The number of cars rose by 321 to 24,187, an increase of 1.35 per cent.
The number of coaches carried increased by 12 to 789, and 18.18 per cent rise while commercial traffic fell by 70 journeys to 289 down 19.5 per cent.
As reported in last week’s Banner the performance on the Arran routes helped CalMac break thought the 5.5 million passenger barrier for 2017.2018. However, while revenues climbed £15 million to £210 million the profits of £4 million for the year were down from £5.3 million last year. The drop in profit was blamed on increased costs in planned and unplanned vessel maintenance.
The new mini golf course in Brodick has proved a big attraction for visitors since it was redeveloped earlier this year. 01_B28minigolf01
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