Island Echo always welcomes letters to the editor, which may of course not reflect the views of the publication and its staff.
Letter to the editor – 20th May 2025
“On the issue of struggling tourism, I don’t believe it’s just the expensive ferries that are putting visitors off.
“As a retired engineer, born and bred on the Island, I’m concerned it is degenerating and desperately needs an injection of fresh initiatives. These don’t all need to be dramatic. For example, our coastal paths must be improved. Due to lack of maintenance, and diversion, the paths have become a major disappointment to many walkers – people who want to come to the Island in all seasons.
Article continues below this advertisement “Many attractions that used to draw tourists have closed over the years, including the waxworks at Brading, Brickfields Horse Country and bird parks. Entrepreneurs should be encouraged to open new ventures.
“Then there is the blight of derelict buildings. Take Sandown. When a coach arrives there I have heard drivers announce, ‘Welcome to Beirut’ due to the awful dereliction of some of our once finest, now closed, hotels.
“We might need a new law allowing local authorities like ours permission to remove derelict buildings when they are an eyesore. At the very least they should be repurposed. Brownfield sites must be developed before building on greenfield sites and creating urban sprawl and destroying the unique beauty and character of the Island.
“A university on the island would be a great way of attracting young people and improving prosperity and status. It could specialise in ‘green’ courses, from solar generation and water purification to waste management – all vital issues for our future.
“I’d like to see a rail link, perhaps from Ryde to the mainland, preferably under water in a tunnel. We don’t need more cars, that’s for sure, as in the summer we approach gridlock.
Article continues below this advertisement “One way of attracting more tourists in the shorter term would be charging half price on ferries and hovercraft at certain times of year.”
Paul Martin
Isle of Wight
Paul is spot on, not to mention charging
50p to use toilets. The amount of times I have
heard holidaymakers mention the toilet charges.
Also where else in the UK do you have to pay a
nightly charge to park along seafronts.
£2
You might only want to go for a stroll along the prom
with an ice cream but you must pay £2.00 after 6pm
otherwise the Councils Civil Enforcement Officers
might slap a parking ticket on you!.
I am not surprised holidaymakers are boycotting the
island, I don’t blame them.
It is definitely the ferry prices, this once beautiful island is going to s@#t, no tourism because people could go abroad for the amount the ferry cost, common sense
What a stupid and blinkered view. Of course it is there ferry prices, and lets no forget the failure rate. Council corruption and rubbish roads too don’t help, but the ferries are the biggest problem of all.
Whoever places the road signage on the island
needs educating, talk about confusing motorists.
I agree, the only problem is money. This problem did not start overnight, its taken many many years to get to this point, currently it will be many years before any investment takes place on the Island. As and when the investment starts it will be multiple years before any noticeable difference.
The problem is they keep building flats everywhere
When they rebuilt the old Wight City complex
they didn’t include any retail space etc, just all flats.
They should have done like they did to the old
Metropole hotel in Ventnor, leave the downstairs area for
Restaurants, gift shops and cafes etc.
It would also have created employment for persons.
I agree that it’s not just the ferries, the cost pf staycationing is very high relative to the cost of travelling abroad. The changing holidayed preference for self contained accommodation, and the buying up of houses as holiday let’s have severely impacted both the hotels and privates rented sectors; I don’t understand why the council doesn’t control it through a licnenzing scheme that limits the numbers of holiday lets in each part of the island. I’ve said numerous times that a university could solve many of the islands issues. Bring young people here and give them a reason to stay. Bring lecturers& technicians here. There’s be hundreds/ thousands of jobs for islanders. A student body of 5,000 would revitalise out towns, nightlife and the long-term benefits of specialist start ups would be a boon. It’s a bold vision and it needs serious investment but I don’t think there’s a single other project that could cure so many ills. We should all want this. We should all want to lure the young & aspirational here.
A university would create a load of p*ssed up Numpty’s
prancing around, look at the state of Pompey.
The island needs to open theme parks etc, more touristy
things.
Bring back Dotto trains, build an observation wheel.
Extend the train lines, open more cycle paths and cycle lanes.
Rebuild Shanklin and Ventnor Piers, re-open boating lakes.
So much can be done, but nothing gets done.
Apologies all for all the typos. Looks like I need to go back to university! Was typing with a passion and didn’t stop to read what I’d typed!
Old dirty worn out tired dump filthy pig people scum everywhere drugs smack heads on the streets as said dirty paths overgrown,ferries a bloody joke so expensive cheaper to go abroad.family tickets close to £100 food drink expensive.and now with this bollocks on horse shit hill..why bother.
Don’t forget it’s no mow may, lol,
not that June will look any better.
Whining baby
Totally agree on all fronts. The island must be valued as something special, and treated as such. It could be a real shop window for green technology and the future, perhaps with all electric traffic ? Just imagine Newport without the stink and noise of diesel! It could be, should be , a harbinger of the future. You can’t return to the past .
What a lot of old waffle. All anyone ever does is moan about the ferries. There is no more, no less to do on the island than before. Yes sandown is a hole but it always has been. There was never a golden age. You just have poor memories.
The kids running around the beaches recently will retain wonderful memories. All that matters is the kids love it and their pictures look great on social media. They don’t notice the price of toilets or ice cream and parents don’t care so long as the kids are happy.
Leave if you’re unhappy.
Sick of hearing the same whining about the same tedious subjects. Can’t you imagine how limited and smelly it was in the Victorian era?
Nothing wrong with the island as it is.
What a welcome comment for your coach driver!! True it may be though sadly. Derelict shop and hotel fronts, weeds along gutters and pathways and that’s if you’ve been fortunate enough to actually catch a ferry! Extortionate prices not just for them but us residents which is diabolical.
No prospects for anyone job wise or much incentive to stay, youngsters swayed into drug addiction and crime.
Add drink and drug driving, vandalism to the mix and I would be miffed to pay the prices a tourist pays to arrive here too.
It is cheaper and better to go abroad. We don’t sell this beautiful island for what it could be, and is in some areas. It’s the low life that let us down and lack of care from thise who should and could do better for it.