Museum closure will make winter bleaker for tourists
A wintry day in Inverness
HEAVY rain and wind lashes the windows of Inverness’s deserted Tourist Information Centre on a bitterly cold afternoon.
Despite it being only a little after 3pm, darkness is not far away and a gale is swirling around the building on Castle Wynd.
Thousands of visitors from across the globe annually beat a path to the centre but it is normally when the better weather hits in spring or summer.
The only people inside today are Graeme Stephen, from Merkinch, and Alexandra Esche, from Germany, who are trying to find out what they can do in Inverness during Miss Esche’s first visit to the city.
The history student from Bavaria is staying at Mr Stephen’s Dunabban Road home after booking through a Couch Sharing website.
The unorthodox approach to booking accommodation allows the website’s members to travel to countries across the world where they are hosted by other members for free, hence the term couch sharing.
On Thursday, Highland Council will decide whether to shut Inverness Museum and Art Gallery between October and April, with the loss of about 14 permanent part-time jobs, in a bid to save money.
Unemployed Mr Stephen (23) spent three months travelling around Holland last summer being hosted by fellow couch sharers.
He is disappointed to learn of the threat to the museum.
"There is really not enough in Inverness itself for tourists coming here," he says.
"Some of the best things like Loch Ness, Fort George and the Culloden Battlefield are at least 20 minutes drive away.
"I’ve been to the museum a few times and it’s very good and one of the only things which does remain open in the winter."
Mr Stephen is planning on hiring a car and taking Miss Esche 70 miles away to Eilean Donan Castle.
She says it would have been better to arrive in the summer but is determined to make the most of her stay.
"I have been studying in Cardiff for six months and always wanted to see Scotland and the Highlands," explains Miss Esche, who had only arrived in Inverness three hours earlier.
"I didn’t really have much choice when I came because I had just finished my studies.
"We are going to the castle and maybe Glen Affric. I came from a really small village in Germany where there is a fair amount of museums and castle type attractions which are open all year round."
Richard Paxton runs a bed and breakfast on Huntly Street and fears losing the museum over the winter could eventually see it being mothballed completely.
Mr Paxton, chairman of the Inverness Bed and Breakfast Association, says that would be a disaster for the local tourism trade because there is already a dearth of quality visitor attractions in the city.
"Look at it from the museum staff’s point of view. If they get laid off for six months they are not going to wait around to be re-employed there.
"Everybody has mortgages to pay so they will look for another job.
"The council might come back and say they then can’t find the right calibre of people to open it.
"If people do without the museum for six months then they might think they could do without it for the rest of the year."
Mr Paxton says it is getting harder to think of local attractions his guests can visit, apart from trips to Culloden and the west coast.
"I always say Inverness is the middle of nowhere and the centre of everywhere but we need to keep a buzz in the city centre," he says.
"It might be a dreich day and you could easily spend an hour or two in the museum.
"You walk around the city centre there is nothing but charity shops, the bus and train station and the night time economy. But not everybody coming here has a car."
Cameron Ross runs a business providing rickshaw rides and history tours around the city centre all year round, but admits it is very weather dependant during the winter months.
"If there is three feet of snow people don’t want to go walking," he says.
Losing the museum during that period is not a step in the right direction particularly as Inverness’s main industry is tourism, believesMr Ross.
"It is a great museum. Okay it’s small but it has got everything you could possibly want and everything you need to know about Inverness," he adds.
"Everybody who comes to Inverness wants different things. Most of the other attractions can be closed down at the time and it’s very seasonal.
"Inverness is a tourist town. We don’t manufacture anything here and have over 300 bed and breakfasts, I don’t know how many hotels and a lot of places to go and eat.
"Visitors only come here because of Loch Ness and the Monster, Culloden and the other thing after that is going to the Isle of Skye which is absolutely no use to Inverness."
Small tourist business hold the key to offering more choice, says Mr Ross.
"It is up to the small businesses to come up with something to keep them here in the city," he explains.
Research carried out by VisitScotland shows the main reasons visitors come to Inverness are the scenery and natural environment on the doorstep.
The organisation’s regional director Scott Armstrong says the winter has its particular charms but visitors want a range of attractions and enjoy the likes of Culloden Battlefield and Urquhart Castle.
He describes Eden Court as a huge asset and says the more year-round attractions the bettter.
He highlights VisitScotland’s current Winter White campaign which focuses on things to see and do in Inverness and the Highlands throughout the winter months and targets the domestic market.
But Mr Armstrong stops short of calling for the museum to be kept open during the winter.
"VisitScotland does recognise the current economic conditions and pressures on public spending and this means difficult decisions need to be made by Highland Council," he states.
"It is worth remembering that, as the economic challenges continue, it is vital we continue to offer visitors a quality year round product, to ensure Inverness and the Highlands remains an attractive and competitive destination."
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Other winter attractions ...
n Eden Court nInverness Aquadome
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The Floral Hall nHappy Tours, guided walks around the city centre
...and out of the city:
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Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre nLoch Ness and Urquhart Castle
n
Fort George nJacobite Cruises
