Turbines or Tourism?

[north beachmore]

As residents of this beautiful peninsula, we are all very aware how lucky we are. It is also true that we are aware how beautiful the many visitors who come here find it. This is now causing something of a dilemma where on the one hand there have been a raft of single wind turbine applications and more applications are in the pipeline for wind farms, Glenbarr being the most prominent, and on the other, how can this be balanced with the various articles in the local press that praise Kintyre as a tourist destinantion with few equals in Scotland. So what is it to be, Tourism or Turbines. It seems to me that we cannot have both, as the turbine proliferation will decimate tourism in the area. The big turbine developers will tell you this is a myth. Are all the tourist reliant businesses and employees in the area prepared to take that risk and believe a somewhat biased opinion, I doubt it.

Scotland to become a 'wind farm landscape', warn planners:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... nners.html

Great article by Neil Oliver on Kintyre
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/featu ... -1-2166815

[Sheik Yir Erse]

I've visited many places where wind turbines are commonplace (Germany, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, etc) however I've never contemplated boycotting any of those due to the presence of said turbines.

I'd be keen to understand how many Forum Members have stopped holidaying somewhere, because they've seen a wind turbine when they arrived

[north beachmore]

I have difficulty in comparing the outstanding natural landscape of Scotland to the flat, featureless landscapes of Denmark and the Netherlands or the industrial landscapes of Germany. Although I would admit that some of Germanys forest, mountain and lake landscapes are beautiful, they are not full of wind turbines. The rest are not quite the same thing methinks! But more to the point, this is not about how many people writing on the Kintyre Forum would be unlikely to return somewhere because of wind turbines, but whether people visiting the west of Scotland and in our interests Argyll and Kintyre in particular would be put-off. A recent survey carried out by the residents of Clachan Seil resulted in their statement :- "Our local economy will suffer because of a decline in tourism; in a survey carried out in our area 62% of visitors said that they would be deterred from returning if the countryside became corrupted by wind farms."

http://www.clachanwindfarm.co.uk/?page_id=51

Can any tourist related business, which in this area is directly or indirectly most of them, afford to lose 62% of their business. Me thinks not....

[LANDROVER ROGER]

I find turbines do not interfere with the perceived beauty of the countryside generally and certainly would not put me off my preferred holiday destination.Here`s another thought.Were people "up in arms" when telegraph poles and electricity pylons marched across the countryside?

[numberplease]

It won`t put us off coming.

[Sheik Yir Erse]

The thread's not really about how they're subsidised, that's another discussion entirely - the thread is about how they could affect tourism.

An independent 2002 survey performed by MORI (Market & Opinion Research International) and commissioned by BWEA and the Scottish Renewables Forum provides strong evidence that wind farms do more to benefit than harm tourism. MORI interviewed tourists visiting Argyll and Bute, Scotland, an area chosen because it currently has the greatest concentration of wind farms in Scotland.

Furthermore, the area also has a tourism industry reliant on the area’s high landscape value. Almost half (48%) of the respondents who came to the area reporting doing so for the scenery (as opposed to 10% who said they came for music festivals, the next most reported reason).

Forty percent of tourists interviewed were aware of the existence of wind farms in the area and when asked whether
this presence had a positive or negative effect, two in five (43%) maintained that it had a positive effect, while a similar
proportion (43%) felt it made no difference. Less than one in ten (8%) felt that it had a negative effect. This means that
the majority of tourists who knew about the wind farms came away with a more positive image of the area because of
their presence.

North Beachmore - I think you'll find - like the example above - whoever is conducting the survey (and how they ask the questions) has a great bearing on the outcome of the findings!

[WC1]

Two points, Sheik. Firstly, the survey you quote was carried out before Scotland began to be over-run with these things. I think the results might be different now. Secondly, it was carried out by the renewables industry - the very people who want to prove that there's no detriment, but perhaps the point you were trying to make.

[Sheik Yir Erse]

whoever is conducting the survey (and how they ask the questions) has a great bearing on the outcome of the findings!

My point was obviously too subtle.

One survey is positive on the effects on windfarms on tourism because of who conducted it and what they wanted the outcome to be! My point being you shouldn't believe the negative findings contained in the other for exactly the same reason!

[LANDROVER ROGER]

I would rather have wind turbines than a nuclear power station.

[SYDNEY.B]

totally agree, fed up hearing about this whole thing about who is profiting from this, topic has changed off subject of tourism !

[Mod8]

Have split topic

Discussion on subsidies can now be found here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13654

[howlsatthemoon]

Driving along the coast road from Cadiz to Gibraltar I came across these little beauties. Would I have changed my route or decided not to go to Gibraltar if I knew they were there? The answer would be NO!

[Han_OH]

They might not have had a negative impact upon your visit and that's brilliant, but I can tell you that after seeing your pictures, I don't ever want to drive along the coast road from Cadiz to Gibraltar. So it's not a myth that turbines affect tourism!

[Sheik Yir Erse]

Just out of interest - how has Gigha's tourist trade been affected since the arrival of their turbines?

[howlsatthemoon]

after seeing your pictures, I don't ever want to drive along the coast road from Cadiz to Gibraltar. So it's not a myth that turbines affect tourism!

You only have to turn your head 180 degrees to see this



And judging by the amount of visitors that were on the road the wind farms did not detract them from the views.