Facile and fatuous (Alan Skinner)

You have published some interesting figures, but without any indication of how they have been calculated.

I have a horrible suspicion that the whole cost of the Yell Sound ferry has been allocated to the “benefit of Yell folk”, the cost of the Bluemull ferry allocated to the “benefit of Unst folk”, etc. This would be clearly facile and fatuous.

For example, the Yell Sound ferry is a vital highway for millions of pounds of fish and seafood per week. The Yell folk only benefit from a tiny percentage of that figure.

Also, in terms of tourism, the Yell Sound ferry is simply a route for tourists to get to Unst, so they can tick off Muckle Flugga from their bucket list.

Most of them do not even stop in Yell, in either direction, and Yell Tourist Group is doing its utmost to find ways to encourage tourists to stop.

Very few tourists actually spend money in either Yell or Unst. They spend their money in Mainland Shetland.

There is a valid debate to be had about galloping centralisation in Shetland, but these figures, I suspect, add nothing to that debate and are frankly misleading.

Alan Skinner
New House,
Cullivoe,
Yell.

ONE COMMENT

Add Your Comment
  • John Tulloch

    • December 21st, 2014 3:45

    Not a single demurral, Alan.

    Presumably, no-one disagrees with you?

    REPLY

Add Your Comment

Please note, it is the policy of The Shetland Times to publish comments and letters from named individuals only. Both forename and surname are required.

Comments are moderated. Contributors must observe normal standards of decency and tolerance for the opinions of others.

The views expressed are those of contributors and not of The Shetland Times.

The Shetland Times reserves the right to decline or remove any contribution without notice or stating reason.

Comments are limited to 200 words but please email longer articles or letters to editorial@shetlandtimes.co.uk for consideration and include a daytime telephone number and your address. If emailing information in confidence please put "Not for publication" in both the subject line and at the top of the main message.

200 words left

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

logo

Get Latest News in Your Inbox

Join the The Shetland Times mailing list to get one daily email update at midday on what's happening in Shetland.