SkyeConnect Aims
A message from SkyeConnect's Project Officer
We know that the visitor economy on the Isle of Skye is capable of creating over £260 million of economic output and benefit for the local, Highland and the Scottish economy. SkyeConnect believe that the people of Skye should control this interest and revenue, not be controlled by it.
Alistair Danter
SkyeConnect Project Officer
In recent years, we have struggled to find our voice as a unique island community. We’re submerged into a generalised Highland Region, when what we need is specific, local vision and strategy, rooted in the place. We are capable of fighting for a common cause, most recently the campaign for Portree Hospital. On wider issues, we have not yet stood up for ourselves, in harmony, as we could.
SkyeConnect believe that for Skye to be a good place to visit it has to be a good place to live. Our island is an economic engine. The numbers are staggering. Yet we have still to provide a pathway for our young people to build homes and families here in the place they love too.
We are the crowning jewel of Scottish tourism yet our island features permanent queues at village toilets, all summer long. We are an island, but our slipways and piers are at best inadequate and at worst dilapidated.
SkyeConnect aims to support our local community to take control of our island future. But to achieve this we need the involvement and participation of the people we want to serve.
“Together we can promote and support Skye in a responsible way that recognises and prioritises our environmental and cultural limits and therefore ensuring a quality island experience for locals and visitors alike. “
Our basic requirements for decent roads, refuse disposal, car parks, toilets, transport and health services have to be met.
The benefits of the visitor economy should be shared for all those living on the island with the implementation of infrastructure that is proportionate to our island’s contributions. Visitors should be encouraged to see all that Skye has to offer, not just a few iconic hotspots. Local public bodies should respond to local needs.
We can achieve our aims by supporting your business to thrive, securing island employment and livelihoods and together holding policy and decision-makers to account. Skye’s remarkable contribution to Scotland must be recognised with tangible support and investment.
Together we can promote and support Skye in a responsible way that recognises and prioritises our environmental and cultural limits and therefore ensuring a quality island experience for locals and visitors alike.
Alistair Danter – SkyeConnect Project Officer