La Islay Bonita - Islay Hot Tourist Destination?
Wednesday, April 18 2007
Earlier I wrote about Springwatch coming to Islay and now it turns out that Springwatch can be responsible for an increase of visitors on Islay. Will Islay become a hot tourist destination? Or is it already? The Ileach had an interesting article in their last edition:
Under the headline 'Celebrities Love Island - Locals are in a flap as Springwatch team flies in with the TV hordes hot on their trail' The Daily Mail announced that 'the most popular wildlife programme on British television' is coming to Islay. The Mail introduced their readers to 'the village idiots' and 'the local laird and his brood' while assuring us that the four million viewers of the programme will 'turn Islay into one of the hottest tourist destinations in Britain'.
Phew. 'But that has produced some anxiety on the island', says worried Mail reporter Mike Wade. 'Can they cope with the stampede?'. 'At least they know what’s coming. Whenever Springwatch turns up to film the wildlife, no matter how remote the location, hordes of visitors follow.' Apparently there was a, '17 per cent surge in applications for accommodation' after the programme visited Shetland last year. Golly! Apparently 'the RSPB has met representatives of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Argyll and Bute Council, VisitScotland and local business to discuss how to control an influx of visitors'. You read it here second. Springwatch will be broadcasting from Islay between 28th May and 14th June.
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