Don’t you want visitors?

I was rather disturbed by the suggestion that visitors should be chargedfor visiting the Shetland Isles.

This year was our third visit to the islands. It would have been ourfourth, or even fifth, except for the Covid lockdown.

Our costs from Germany were, for transport, approximately £2,500 of which a little under £1,000 went to NorthLink which hopefully helps towards the cost of maintaining that service which is of benefit to the islands.

The charges for a month in an Airbnb letting were then approx. £3,500.

We bought all our food in Shetland shops. We probably travelled more than the residents would normally do, which means support for cafés, visitor venues and even petrol stations. We possibly used the ferry services more in that month than the Mainland residents would do.

In all, we feel that we contributed to the financial benefit of the islands as much as any resident. Why, then, should we have to pay more in the form of a deliberate tax?

I am 90 years old, living on a pension, and it takes a great deal of care to gather together the necessary money to pay for our holiday.

In these days of rapid inflation, an extra charge would probably be the tipping point when we could no longer afford to visit and, rather than gain through a tax, overall the islands would lose what little we do bring to the finances of the islands.

Take notice of all the other visitors from outwith the UK as they might all feel as we do. Or do you not want visitors?

Ian Harris,
Grevenbroich
Germany

Island councils team up to study feasibility of visitor levy scheme