The tourism industry is continually seeking out new vacation destinations to satisfy the ever increasing demands of the modern tourist however many are also taking a new interest in places which have been popular destinations of the past. The reasons for the decline in the areas popularity with tourist may not be applicable today (such reasons could include such things as wars ending). The Western Isles of Scotland are one of the most fascinating and beautiful places, in the world, which are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of folk taking vacations there.



The first tourist in Great Britain could be said to be those young men who did the "Grand Tour of Europe". Although the main aim of such a trip was to expand the mind, learning about new cultures, art and the likes it was often little more than an opportunity to meet important and/or influential people and have a wonderful time doing so.

In the United Kingdom, during the early days of the tourist industry, people generally tended to visit places not too far from where they lived or worked. Working men and women often had only the annual works outing to look forward to, which was attended by all of the employees while their work place was closed. Those of more means were able to venture further and some even went as far as traveling to the islands of St Kilda in the Western Isles of Scotland.

With the development of air travel, and its steady decrease in cost and increase in wages, many British families were now able to afford to take European vacations. Instead of taking the family to the likes of Pontins and Butlins holiday camps in the UK, families now visited beaches in Spain, the South of France and the Mediterranean. Alternatively visitors from abroad started to visit the UK and many chose to visit places with unique aspects such as the Western Isles of Scotland, which started to become extremely popular with American and Canadian visitors as a vacation destination.

While younger tourists still opt for the typical beach and bar vacation destinations more discerning tourists, who understand the dangers of binge drinking and sunburn, tend to look for something a little more educational, inspiring and altogether more cultural. Many of the United Kingdoms' major cities seem to becoming highly popular with tourist with Liverpool being in the vanguard (Liverpool is this years Europena Capital of Culture).

The Western Isles of Scotland (mentioned above) are a small group of islands just off the Scottish west coast. Although there are over two hundred Isles only thirteen are still inhabited. These islands are amongst the most unique in Europe with unique landscapes, flora and fauna and it is for their uniqueness that many visitors choose to tour the islands.

The group of islands are also known as the Outer Hebrides and this, sometimes, causes some confusion for visitors, it is even confusing for the islands' inhabitants. The islands (such as the Isle of Harris, Isle of Lewis, North and South Uist, Barra and Benbecula) have, as their main language, Gaelic (pronounced "Galick") which, although it has the same roots as other forms of Gaelic, is very different to the Irish Gaelic (pronounced "Gaylick"). The culture of the Outer Hebrides is a mix of Celtic and Norse with a major aspect being Gaelic and the region is regarded as the Gaelic heartland.

The Outer Hebrides have a long and fascinating history which goes back to prehistoric times. All over the islands can be seen evidence of their long gone inhabitants with the most spectacular, and most widely known, sites are the Standing Stones of Calanais. Once know as the Callanish Standing Stones they are now known in the Gaelic as are all place names. Happily the sign posts are in the Gaelic first but feature an English translation below.

Another reason why the Western Isles are becoming increasingly popular as a vacation destination is the incredible increase in interest in genealogy (tracing your family roots and ancestors). Life has always been hard in the Hebrides and for generations many young men and young families emigrated, to America, Canada and other places, in search of a better life of opportunity. During a period known as the clearances massive numbers of Scots were forcefully removed from their land and sent abroad and this means that a great many people return to the islands in search of their roots.

Most probably the main reason why so many people visit the islands of the Hebrides these days is the simple fact that they are far more accessible than they ever were before. Although the Hebrides Isles are still considered difficult to get to the fact that you can now fly to a few places there is vastly different than only a few decades ago when it could take a few days.