The RX-8

Tourism is a major area of Andy’s concern and he has
some pretty stringent views on what needs to be
done.
Coaches, he reckons, do not do the Island’s roads any
good. “They put absolutely nothing into the Island
economy, nothing, apart from damaging our roads.
When a coach party goes out for the day, they spend
very little - in fact almost nothing. How does this
help the Island?”
So if the coaches go, what replaces them and what do
the coaching hotels do?
“We know there is a demand for walking and cycling,
because we have all the statistics. There’s also clear
evidence when you look at all the data that the best
hotels have got an 85% occupancy rate all year round,
and the lower hotels have not. To some degree the
commercial market will drive that.”
“We need to look at a fairer charging policy for
coaches coming over, so the local community and the
local authority get a bigger take from that market. We
will look at increasing the coach parking charges. We
want to shape the market, and go for higher value
tourism.”
“We also need to extend the season - it’s essential for
the Island business community that we do this. It’s
about encouraging the pounds out of the pockets of
the visitors who come here.”
“We will never get rid of coaches, but we can shape
the bucket and spade brigade, and turn the Island’s
tourism on its head. We need to shape the battle
ground, as I would say with my military background.”
Island Life - www.islandlifemagazine.net
“the Needles are magical,
I love the West Wight”
INTERVIEW
15