Tourism in Scotland
would survive a Yes vote in the country’s independence vote next month … and
could even benefit from it, says Edinburgh-based travel writer Robin McKelvie
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| Edinburg Castle by Christian Bickel - Wikimedia Commons |
SCOTLAND
has faced many important dates throughout its tumultuous history, but there can
scarcely have been any as important as September 18, 2014. This is the date when the
country will decide in a democratic referendum whether it wants to fully run
its own affairs again for the first time in more than 300 years. If it is a Yes
vote, there will be ramifications for tourism. What are they and how serious
might they be?
Once
all the niggling and scaremongering – an unfortunate part of any divorce –
surrounding the British Pound, EU membership and the UK’s national debt dies away, the Scottish people will be left
to decide on whether they want to run Scotland themselves again. The effects of
independence would be immediate, as the fledgling independent nation would have
to move quickly to clarify and establish a new set of relations with the rest
of the world.
In
tourist terms as a Scot and a travel writer, I have watched at close
quarters dozens of countries become
independent. The first immediate effect I anticipate from those experiences is
a massive bounce in tourism. This comes with the country being splashed across
newspapers, magazines and TV bulletins around the world. Tourists have an
innate desire to experience the new, and visiting what in essence would be
Europe’s newest independent country would no doubt fire the imagination.
In
more practical terms, scare stories have become part of the independence
campaign with the No camp and
associated media keen to stir up worries about border controls, currency issues
and the like. In reality, most Western European countries generally find a way
around such issues, agreeing pragmatics, as has happened with the border
situation on the island of Ireland, where the frontier between the Republic and Ulster is fairly well managed.
Currency-wise,
again I think pragmatism would triumph. Whether Scotland does become part of a
‘Sterling Zone’ in conjunction with the Bank of England (itself originally
devised by a Scotsman!) or there is a looser currency pegged to sterling, or
even a totally different currency, perhaps even the much-demonized euro,
remains to be seen. However it pans out, big business will be pushing the
politicians on both sides of the border to ensure as seamless an arrangement as
possible, as both entities will be major trading partners with each other. Any
practical solution here would then trickle down to iron out potential issues
for tourists.
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| "Scottish Parliament" by gren - Wikimedia Commons |
Moving
away from the mooted negatives, there might actually be some benefits for
tourists visiting Scotland. Given greater control, the Scottish Government
would be in a better position to develop cross-border transport links such as
the deeply unsatisfactory east coast road route, which is not even dual
carriageway all the way to Edinburgh. The dualling of the A9 and A96 in
Scotland might also be stepped up, with or without any European Union funds. Air transport might also improve, as
the Scottish Government has already talked about a reduction in Air Passenger
Duty – or even scrapping it – potentially signalling more flight connections
and cheaper fares from England, Wales and Northern Ireland to Scotland.
Between
now and 18th September the rhetoric and scaremongering from all sides will no doubt
be stepped up. If Scotland does decide to go it alone, I would expect the
post-referendum machinations from the Scottish side to be as canny and
pragmatic as our reputation built across centuries at the administrative heart
of the Union and British Empire. If this is matched by England, I see no reason
for any major obstacles for tourism post independence. At the end of the day,
people like to visit new, different places, so, surely, an independent Scotland
would be an even stronger draw than before.
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