Press release -
Marine Scotland’s first national survey of coastal and marine recreation and tourism
Marine Scotland is launching its first national survey of recreation and tourism around the Scottish coast and seas. It covers a vast array of activities and tourism businesses in, on or next to the sea.
The survey, run by consultancy LUC, aims to provide data to support marine planning and is a partnership between Marine Scotland, Firth of Clyde Forum, Scottish Coastal Forum, The Crown Estate, VisitScotland, sportscotland, WHAM, Royal Yachting Association, British Marine (Scotland), Sail Scotland and Scottish Canals.
The survey is online at www.marinerecreationandtourism.scot. It will run from 1st August until 31st October 2015.
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment Richard Lochhead said:
"Marine tourism is worth an estimated £360 million to the Scottish economy, creating jobs, increasing participation in sports and recreational activities and showcasing Scotland in international markets as a world class destination.
"This survey provides a great opportunity to promote marine recreation and tourism throughout the country.
"I would encourage anyone with an interest in marine tourism and recreation to complete this survey before 31st October."
Sarah Brown, Project Manager said:
“This sort of survey has never been attempted before and we are not underestimating the challenge! The partnership approach is great and comes directly from our work with the Cross Party Group and the Marine Tourism Strategy launched earlier this year. We hope the survey will show us where the most important places are for each activity around Scotland so we can have a better understanding of the importance of different areas as Regional Marine Plans are drawn up.”
The survey coincides with the development of a new suite of Regional Marine Plans covering Scotland’s coast and seas and related work such as the pilot Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters plan, currently out for consultation.
By telling us who does what and where, the survey will help ensure these plans reflect Scotland’s unique opportunities for activities such as kayaking, sailing, wildlife watching or simply playing about with a frisbee on the beach. It will help recreation be appropriately recognised in the planning process, providing the kind of information we hold for other activities like shipping, off-shore renewables and fish farming. It will also help justify and guide future investment in facilities and infrastructure.
Alan Laidlaw, Portfolio Manager with The Crown Estate, one of the project partners, said:
“This is a really important opportunity for people to help play a part in managing Scotland’s coastal and marine areas, as all the data gathered from the survey will help to promote the importance of Scotland’s coast for tourism, sport and recreation, which is key to the growth of our economy. We want to hear from everyone who spends time at the coast for work or enjoyment, whether they sail, fish, dive, run or just walk the dog!”
Everyone who completes the survey will have the opportunity to enter a free prize draw with prizes that include:
a short break in one of Scottish Canals’ holiday cottages
Spa Day Experience for two guests at Portavadie’s new Spa
Family tickets for Inveraray Jail and Inveraray Castle
Two Return Tickets for the Kintyre Express fast passenger ferry from Campbeltown to Ballycastle in Northern Ireland
Notes to Editors
Marine Scotland is a Directorate of the Scottish Government and is responsible for the integrated management of Scotland's seas. Its purpose is to manage Scotland's seas for prosperity and environmental sustainability, working closely with our key delivery partners, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). Marine Scotland’s key responsibilities include helping to ensure a healthy and sustainable marine environment, developing plans based on sound evidence and promoting sustainable economic growth in the marine and maritime sectors.
The Marine (Scotland) Act (2010) introduced a new era for the management of Scotland's seas. The resulting National Marine Plan sets the wider context for planning within Scotland, including what should be considered when creating local, regional marine plans. Eleven Scottish Marine Regions have been created extending 12nm out to sea. Regional Marine Plans will be developed by Marine Planning Partnerships, allowing local ownership and decision making about specific issues within each area.
For more information, please contact: Sarah Brown, 07774 160931, sarah@clydeforum.com or Nick James, LUC, 07973 631307, nick.james@landuse.co.uk.
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- marine tourism
- sportstourism
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Food and Drink 2015- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
