| CalMac opens new Fort William facility | |
| 30 May 2007 Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has opened a new facility in Fort William to develop key aspects of its business in the Lochaber area and beyond. The CalMac Tourshop, which is located in the Fort William transport interchange, opened this week and will offer the full range of CalMac’s booking, ticketing and marketing facilities.
The office will be opened formally on Tuesday, June 5 by HITRANS Chairman Charles King. He has welcomed the opening saying: "The opening of the CalMac Tour Shop in Fort William Travel Centre is a very welcome development not just for Lochaber but for the whole of the Highlands and Islands. The location is very important and this facility adds greatly to the £700,000 redevelopment of Fort William Rail Station to become a multi-modal travel centre. Located on the start of the Road to the Isles it seems only natural that people can get information and tickets for ferries to our islands."
Staffed by Senior Tour Shop Assistant Fiona Ford and her team of two, the Tour Shop also incorporates the office of CalMac's Regional Manager Hebrides, David Taylor. The Tour Shop is building on the success of a similar development in CalMac’s Oban terminal and the new facility will link closely to the company’s Inverness office, which is also being branded as a Tour Shop.
David Taylor said: "This is effectively a relaunch of the Tour Shop concept in key tourism hubs within the geographic area covered by the CalMac network and it is key to our business strategy that we firmly establish a high CalMac brand profile within the Lochaber area and in Inverness. One of our key objectives is to raise awareness of CalMac services and destinations among visitors to the Lochaber area, through improved signage and community awareness and we will be engaging with significant sectors of the community about how we will do that.”
Susan Paterson, CalMac’s Marketing Manager added: “ Visitor footfall through Visit Scotland Highland area visitor centres supports the view that Fort William is a major tourism hub for people holidaying on the West Coast of Scotland. As well as a destination in its own right, the town is a major decision making and information gathering point for tourists, particularly those touring by car. This presents an opportunity for CalMac to influence a large number people (approx 700,000 visit the Lochaber area annually) to take a trip out to the islands through greater promotion of ferry and island tourism information. The central location of Fort William opens up the potential of links to Skye, Mull and Oban and there is an extensive set of possibilities for the development of tours and excursions which we will be promoting.”
Tour/bus companies have recently invested heavily in the Lochaber area (beyond the confines of the Fort William town boundary, as far away as Roy Bridge), purchasing a significant number of hotels. Bus companies have already indicated that they will be receptive to the development of new tours and excursions, particularly to Skye, the Small Isles and throughout Ardnamurchan to Mull and Iona, using Fort William as a base for day trips.
It should not be forgotten either that Fort William and the Lochaber area retains a significantly high proportion of second and third generation island people maintaining strong links with the Western Isles.
Significant events, which affect this scenario in 2007, include the presence of the Royal National Mod in Fort William, within the overall context of Highland 2007, the major cultural festival in which Caledonian MacBrayne is a Concordat Partner. The development of the Gaelic Ring concept presents another significant area for potential development.
CalMac’s new Fort William office is open Monday to Saturday from 0900 until 1300 and 1400 until 1730.
The office telephone number is 01397 705285 and the fax number 01397 706113.
Issued: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 : 1100 | |
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