Rural Scotland People, Prosperity and Partnership
TOURISM
Tourism is one of Scotland's most important industries. In 1994, visitor expenditure totalled around £2,000 million of which about £1,450 million was spent outwith the main urban areas of Edinburgh and Glasgow. In many rural areas, tourism is already the largest source of employment; in the Highlands and Islands, for example, tourism provides employment for about 20% of the total workforce and in some areas such as Argyll and Skye it is of considerably greater significance. Tourism offers real prospects of expansion in rural areas. The main attractions of Scotland for tourists are associated with the natural environment, but visitors do require a healthy rural economy. Visitors often want to meet local people and experience local culture. Visitors also need good service in terms of a variety of shops, good transport facilities and good visitor attractions. In November 1994, the Scottish Tourism Co-ordinating Group published a strategy for Scottish tourism. The Group is chaired by the Minister with responsibility for tourism at The Scottish Office and brings together the main public bodies involved in supporting the tourist industry together with a representative of the industry itself. The key objectives of the strategy are to increase visitor expenditure, develop all year round tourism and develop tourism outwith main tourism areas. The realisation of these objectives would greatly benefit rural areas. For example, more visitors to hotels and restaurants and caravan parks will mean greater local expenditure and improved viability for other industries and services. Protection of the environment is an essential task if tourists are to continue to be attracted to rural areas. The Co-ordinating Group has established a Task Force which brings together private and public sector agencies (including Scottish Natural Heritage) to promote the concept of sustainable tourism. The Task Force has set up throughout Scotland a series of Tourism Management Programmes to demonstrate the advantages of long term management of tourism resources. The lessons of these programmes are to be disseminated widely so that groups elsewhere in Scotland can similarly develop sustainable tourism projects.
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