Tour operator warns of damage to Scottish tourism by fuel strike

Robin Worsnop, chief executive of Rabbie’s Small Group tours, which organises tour across Scotland and into the north of England, fears he may again have to cancel some tours as happened during the last shortages in 2000.

“It caused significant operational issues,” he said.

“We didn’t know from one day to the next whether we would be able to operate our tours and we were phoning around every forecourt across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland finding out who had diesel. We were re-directing our buses to fill up wherever they could.”

The firm were forced to cancel many tours and lost thousands of pounds, but Mr Worsnop fears the wider impact on the sector in Scotland.

“It’s just at the beginning of the tourism season and the damage to the reputation to the tourism sector in Scotland could be very significant if this goes ahead,” he said.

“Many customers we have booked to come on holiday with us last October and they might be flying in from America or travelling from Australia and it might be a big part of their holiday plans and it may not be possible to take them because of this.”

Rabbie’s, which has a base on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, does not have access to its own fuel bin, relies on being able to fill up every night.

“We don’t have access the a fuel tank to fill up and we’re in the process of looking at a few friends around who might be able to provide us with fuel if that situation occurred, but its not ideal - they tend to have it for their own businesses,” he said.

“It’s not helpful when government ministers are telling people to fill up their jerry cans and causing a run on fuel.

The firm has 25 buses on the road and dealt with 40,000 travellers last year - its most successful to date when it had a turnover of £3.5 million.