A Perthshire hotel has unveiled a £1.25m development underlining its belief that buoyancy will return to the Scottish tourism market.
J and R Group, the owners of McKays Hotel in Pitlochry, have built 12 new bedrooms and created a 100-seat function suite.
There are also mid-term plans to establish a McKays ‘Townhouse’, with two apartments, followed by the refurbishment of seven en-suite rooms at an existing sister business which closed during lockdown.
The latest investment package, enabled by business and bank finance, takes J and R Group investment in McKays to around £3m and increases the number of rooms for guests to 39.
The construction was undertaken as a ‘live project’ by Dundee building company Alpha Projects, which worked alongside architect and design consultants Dave Phillip and Steve Gibson.
That enabled McKays to continue to trade as work progressed during the crucial summer months.
The development was consented and financed prior to the pandemic, but had to be curtailed during lockdowns.
Despite coronavirus losses for tourism and fears over looming energy price spikes in October, McKays’ owners are confident in recovery for Scotland’s tourism sector, in the longer term.
“We have confidence in what we have created here as a product,” said Richard Drummond, director of J and R Group. “Our approach has been to continually reinvest in the business, to improve the quality for customers.
“We grew sales through the last financial crash of 2007/2008 and we have grown the business since then - that gave the bank confidence in us, as operators, and they also saw the impact when we began to build up our portfolio of rooms.”
The return of several major events this year has seen solid advanced bookings for the new rooms, justifying optimism around the development.
Among them was the return of the Enchanted Forest sound and light show in Pitlochry, along with the 170th Pitlochry Highland Games. The March Into Pitlochry music festival and Hogmanay Street Party are also coming back to the town.
“I don’t think we are back at maximum again - that may take a couple of years - but we are confident the international market will return,” added Drummond.
Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.
