The Vikings aren't coming - just yet
Tourist board hold on to holiday package cash
(Story Dated: June 20, 2002)

Orkney Tourist Board are hanging fire before committing £72,000 to a new tourism project, until they’re sure their money will be well spent.

They have raised concerns over their participation in Viking Island Holidays – launched last year as a novel way of offering holiday packages to the Northern Isles for both the travel trade and the consumer.

But relations between the board and NorthLink Ferries – the main driving force behind the scheme – seemed to take a turn for the worse this week after NorthLink issued a press release highlighting their own concerns about “significant delays” to the scheme – caused, they say, mainly by Orkney Tourist Board.

The company, who are due to operate ferry services to the Northern Isles from October, say they have committed £220,000 to the £500,000 two year project – a joint venture with Orkney Tourist Board and Shetland Islands Tourism. There is also £143,000 of European funding available.

The stumbling block lies in the fact that OTB – along with Shetland – are supposed to contribute £36,000 each year to the scheme.

The total £72,000 over the two year period, would normally be spent by the board on promoting Orkney, and speaking this week, OTB chief executive, Barbara Foulkes said it amounted to around one third of their annual marketing budget.

She said the main concern was whether the project was worthwhile to OTB members and would achieve the same benefits for Orkney as their normal marketing initiatives.

NorthLink’s decision to air their concerns through the media this week, calling on OTB to clarify whether or not they wished to continue their involvement with the project as it stood, was questioned by Mrs Foulkes, who said the ball was very much in NorthLink’s court.

She pointed out that the board had written to NorthLink and Shetland Islands Tourism detailing their concerns and were still waiting for a response.

“Northlink have had a letter from Orkney Tourist Board since Tuesday of last week (June 11),” she said. “We have had no response to that letter and it is a bit strange that the first response is a press release.

“We are awaiting confirmation from NorthLink that they are prepared to go forward in a manner that allows Orkney Tourist Board to operate within its statutory requirements and in the best interests of all its members.”

The main concern, she said, was to ensure that OTB members didn’t lose out on any current marketing benefits.

“We have to make sure that the expectations that we have for marketing are going to be met through Viking Island Holidays,” she said.

Mrs Foulkes said OTB had already contributed some money to the project to help pay for start up costs and publications for trade shows, but had not handed over the full £36,000.

She explained that reserving the money for the project had not yet impacted on their normal marketing campaigns, which take place in the spring and autumn.

She said the spring campaign had been paid for, but the issue needed to be resolved before their autumn campaign, when the rest of the money would normally be spent.

She said the situation had not got to the stage though, of the board wishing to pull out of the scheme.

“We are not being forced to do this, but we would like to move forward in a positive way with the other two partners,” she said.

With NorthLink’s service due to start in only three months, the company this week said the board’s concerns were holding up the project.

At the beginning of the year, for example, it was announced that a business manager, paid for by the three partners, would be appointed, but there’s still no-one in the job.

Calling on OTB to clarify their position, NorthLink chief executive John Horton said this week: “The concept is a very simple one and in the way it was first presented, was very easy for NorthLink to support.

“It is clear that the tourist boards, and in particular the board in Orkney, now have some technical difficulties with the project. These have resulted in significant delays. While NorthLink is happy to help resolve those issues, where it is able, we really do require some clarity from the Orkney Board as to whether or not they wish to continue to be involved along the lines agreed.

“The important issue is that there are now travel trade and individual holiday customers waiting for information on Viking Island Holidays’ itineraries in the far north and we need to make sure those customers are properly served.”

Mr Horton said it was also worth restating that it was the tourist boards that approached NorthLink with the aim of working together to promote new visits to the islands.

“The tourist boards convinced me that by working together, we could have greater impact in the visitor market than we could by operating alone,” he said.

“I know that the respective tourism marketing strategies place great store by such joint working and NorthLink remains happy to be involved where we can usefully join forces to promote the islands.”

Asked by The Orcadian why the board’s concerns had not been brought up earlier, Mrs Foulkes explained: “The concept is sound, the funding is sound, but the devil is in the detail. It is a good idea, the funding is there for it, but it is how we make it work and we need to agree how we make it work.”

myles.hodnett@orcadian.co.uk