Tavish Scott: All aboard for a welcome in Shetland

The cruise liner business is great news for many Scottish ports. Increasing numbers of tourists take to the high seas for relaxation and Scotland, Faroe, Iceland and Norway are all popular destinations.
Tavish Scott. Picture: Neil HannaTavish Scott. Picture: Neil Hanna
Tavish Scott. Picture: Neil Hanna

Lerwick is a useful stopping point for these purveyors of all things luxurious.

Some 50 cruise liners call in during the summer months, discharging thousands into the narrow picturesque lanes of Lerwick to photograph Shetland ponies and visit Bronze-Age archeological sites.

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The Hebridean Princess liner is one of the most prized visitors. This smaller vessel carries particularly affluent guests, so the knitwear shops and other sellers of fine crafts are delighted when she enters harbour. Encouraging cruise liner passengers to part with their dollars, euros or pounds is quite a challenge. No wonder. They have paid for an all-inclusive cruise with excursions. This means a bus journey from the docks of Leith, Invergordon or Kirkwall. So, having invested in the experience, a little more disposable spend in each port amounts to an expensive holiday. That would not appear a problem for passengers aboard the Hebridean Princess.

This week the island jungle drums reached a whole new level. It was reported that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were on board as she steamed into Shetland coastal waters.

Various celebrity sitings were reported from the ferry to the neighbouring island of Bressay to a chance encounter in a local pub. Sadly these turned out to be groundless and the story was based on rumours the vessel would be used for Brad and Angelina’s wedding. A film star glitzy wedding would certainly be good news for island tourism.

All this Brad and Angelina speculation somewhat over shadowed the arrival of the Scottish Cabinet. They are on safari, meeting natives around Scotland during the summer recess. I was asked to attend a civic reception in Lerwick’s Town Hall, hosted not by the convenor of Shetland Islands Council but by the First Minister.

I’ve been to Lerwick’s town hall many times. I recall the Highlands and Islands convention with Donald Dewar with a reception hosted not by the Secretary of State but by the council’s convenor. A state visit by Michael Forsyth when Scottish Secretary was also honoured by a convenor’s reception. So many wondered this week about the Scottish Cabinet’s wisdom of arriving in Shetland as visitors to host a reception for Shetlanders.

But all visitors provide opportunities. The BBC has just finished filming a new series of Shetland, the crime drama based on author Ann Cleeves’ characters.

The film crew are due to visit Fair Isle, which is famous for knitwear patterns and sea birds, in the autumn. Shetland aired to mixed reviews but irrespective of the critics, film crews, Hollywood stars and ministers are all welcome visitors to the islands.

• Tavish Scott is Liberal Democrat MSP for Shetland