GOUROCK has seen Britain’s third biggest increase in inquiries about coastal holiday lettings, according to new research.

The news has been greeted warmly as a sign that the town is on the up.
The research was carried out by HolidayLettings — a TripAdvisor company — who said there had been a 200 per cent spike in interest over the past year in people asking about breaks in Gourock.

This placed the Inverclyde town behind Chapel St. Leonards, Skegness in Lincolnshire (390 per cent) and Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland (300 per cent) but ahead of towns in Essex, Norfolk, Hampshire and Cornwall.
Provost Robert Moran described the survey results as ‘amazing’.

He said: “This is fantastic news. and very positive for Gourock. It’s a vindication of all of the regeneration that has gone on in the town and the improvements to the pool and gym.

“It’s possible that people passing through Gourock to go to Argyll and the Highlands have decided that it would be worthwhile spending some time in the town.

“There’s definitely more vibrancy there these days, including the attractive cafes and pubs, as well as the Cloch Caravan Park.

“This really is an indication that Gourock is on the up.”

Gourock councillors Ronnie Ahlfeld and Chris McEleny were also delighted with the news.

Cllr Ahlfeld said: “This is quite staggering, and encouraging for Gourock’s economy.

“The pool has always been a great attraction, of course, and we’ve had positive feedback about the new road and the regeneration of the town.

“It’s also possible that some of the increase is down to cruise ship passengers seeing the town as their ships go by, and deciding they would like to spend some time there.”

He added: “Other people may have visited local developments, such as the flats at the former Gantock Hotel site, and looked at coming back to spend a few days here.

“It shows how great it would be if we had a large, quality hotel in the town.”

This view was echoed by Councillor Chris McEleny, who praised the Spinnaker Hotel but said Inverclyde Council and Riverside Inverclyde should explore the potential of attracting a ‘boutique’ hotel to the town.

He said: “This positive survey should be an incentive to pursue that idea to promote Gourock. It’s a unique coastal town with easy proximity to Glasgow and for getting across the Clyde to the Highlands.

“We have one of the main transport hubs in the country, and the Scottish Government’s introduction of the ‘road equivalent tariff’, making it cheaper to take vehicles on ferries, would be very popular if we could get a car ferry brought back between Gourock and Dunoon.”

Trip Advisor claims to be the largest travel site in the world, with more than 60 million members and over 170 million reviews and opinions of hotels, restaurants, attractions and other travel-related businesses.

Jack Johnson of HolidayLettings said travellers are exploring outside of “traditional” areas.

He said it was not possible to give numbers rather than percentages, and added: “These statistics show that travellers are starting to get the taste for visiting lesser-known holiday spots.”