All this week The Orkney News will focus some of its articles on Tourism in Orkney. Our islands are a wonderful place for visitors and locals to explore. It’s important that there is a balance that gets it right for everyone.

Currently Orkney Islands Council is running a public consultation on its Draft Visitor Management Plan which closes on 16 October 2026.

OIC Councillor Mellissa Thomson. Chair of the Council’s Enterprise and Infrastructure Committee, said:

“Tourism plays an important role in Orkney, and we want to make sure it supports our communities, respects the places they care about and protects the services they depend on.

“This consultation is a chance for folk to tell us whether we have identified the right pressures and if the actions proposed in the draft plan will help address them.”

You can also get paper copies by contacting the council.

“We’re running this consultation to make sure the plan clearly explains our role in visitor management, accurately identifies the main tourism pressures in Orkney and sets out practical actions to help address those pressures.”

The Plan considers Tourism to be a ‘cornerstone’ of the Orkney economy, and a ‘key pillar of local prosperity’.

Its stated aim is to deliver targeted interventions that manage visitor impacts, safeguard community wellbeing and protect natural and cultural heritage. The buzz phrase is ‘Regenerative Tourism’ where success is measured not by the numbers of visitors coming to Orkney, but by having ‘thriving’ communities. There’s a whole chapter dedicated to defining what is meant by ‘Regenerative Tourism.’

Assumptions

1. The Plan assumes that the Tourism sector in Orkney will continue to grow. It bases this on a steady rise in visitor numbers over the last 20 years, and in particular with the cruise ship industry. It provides an estimate of visitor numbers in 2024 of 440,000, and a further estimate of income generated from that of £114million.
2. The Plan assumes funding for the OIC will fall in real terms but that there will be ‘significant’ costs due to : an ageing population, social care reforms, pressure on public services etc. OIC councillors rejected having a visitor levy for the islands, although the proposals also leave the door open for alternative models of visitor levies which could be charged.

The challenges of the increase in visitor numbers faced by our public services will be well known to islanders, and to regular visitors. More recently the closure of the Tourist Information Centre run by VisitScotland has meant that visitors have to go online or try and find out what they need to know once they get to Orkney. OIC customer services and our public Libraries have seen a marked increase in people trying to find out information from them and putting staff there under pressure.

Another issue is the shortage of housing for both local people and workers taking up posts in Orkney as more properties become short term lets or other forms of visitor accommodation.

Increasing Charges

The proposals explore ways of introducing/increasing charges for some of the facilities and services the council runs: “expanding and optimising income generation and savings is essential to sustaining the services and infrastructure that support tourism.” It is stated that the current council services are not sufficient to cope with the large number of tourists in the summer.

The proposals also reflect on the gap between what the people of Orkney expect from the council in dealing with issues arising from high visitor numbers, and the limited control the OIC says it has over the Tourism Sector.

The Action Plan

The very first item in the proposed Action Plan is “Engage with the Scottish Government on islands-appropriate tourism levy”

As well as a focus on the cruise ship passengers, there’s also a section on visitors who arrive by motorhome. The response proposed to the closure of the tourist centre in Kirkwall once run by VisitScotland is to “Explore physical information provision at Council sites, ” installations such as travel hubs, libraries, and digital information screens.

West Mainland Roads

The pressure on the roads in the West Mainland with the increased volume of traffic as tour buses and independent travellers want to visit The UNESCO World Heritage Site, The Heart of Neolithic Orkney, is to be monitored. (This issue will also be raised in another article this week as The Orkney News examines the plans to redevelop the Stenness/Brodgar area.)

The options suggested for the B-roads in The West Mainland is to re-size those badly affected and increase the number of passing places. Also suggested are ways to reduce the number of buses and motorhomes on the B-roads in The West Mainland, “Options may include toll charges, weight limits or other proportionate measures.” How a weight limit would be manageable in a farming community with the machinery needed to bring in harvests, and transport animals is a bit of a tricky one.

The maintenance of Orkney’s Core Path network has suffered from a lack of funding. An option suggested by the council is to encourage those using the pathways to donate towards their upkeep. Clearly there is quite a safety issue for walkers if core paths and not being maintained to an appropriate standard.

The proposals are often of a general nature, however, vehicle access to the Point of Buckquoy at Birsay is one issue which is highlighted with a view to limiting the use of the road, and to “identify potential alternative parking options in Birsay.” The Point of Buckquoy is where visitors and locals park in order to walk the coastal path, or to visit the Brough of Birsay. (Interestingly there was no specific mention of the issue of parking at Yesnaby.)

OIC manages many places where tourists and locals visit. An option being suggested is to have an online booking system for group visits and events including at:

• St Magnus Cathedral
• Orkney Museum
• Scapa Flow Museum
• Kirbuster Farm Museum

with the option that this could be extended to other council run places.

Increased Car Parking Charges

In amongst all of this is proposed increasing parking charges at the council run car parks, including those next to popular tourist sites (Ring of Brodgar? Standing Stones of Stenness? – see our future article on the plans to develop the Stenness/Brodgar area ) and of charging tour buses for parking at the Stromness Ferry Road car park.

It is proposed to have a three year review of Cruise Ship bookings and also how the numbers of passengers and crew they bring impacts NHS Orkney and local pharmacies.

Increasing public toilet provision includes the option of ‘free-standing toilets’ in public buildings and possibly working with private businesses. And of course, having to pay to pee either by cashless payments or encouraging donations.

St Magnus Cathedral comes in for special focus in the Action Plan, looking at ways to increase donations and to improve the retail side of this place of worship which belongs to the People of Orkney.

Summary of the Action Plan

Click on this link for more information and to take park in the survey : Orkney Islands Council Draft Visitor Management Plan 2027-2037

The Orkney News would like to encourage our readers to take a look at the information provided by Orkney Islands Council and to take part in the survey. It is worth noting that this is a ten year plan which assumes visitor numbers will either stay as high as they are or continue to increase.

It’s worth remembering that the Covid pandemic in 2020 resulted in a lockdown where Orkney’s tourism industry came to a grinding halt and took at least 2 years to recover. How resilient will Orkney’s economy be when the next pandemic hits – or other global events ? Contingency needs to be built in to any future planning for: an increase in extreme weather events; the rise in fuel prices; successful competition from other tourist destination ports for cruise liners; economic consequences of armed conflicts – some or all of which could cause a downturn in visitor numbers.

Fiona Grahame

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