Press release -
Latest stats show ‘Staycationers’ spend £240m in Scotland’s National Parks
As the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Parks celebrate National Parks Week 29 July - 4 August, new VisitScotland research has revealed their importance to the Scottish economy.
The Scottish National Parks Sector Review: 2012 reveals that last year both parks welcomed over a million people from the United Kingdom and Ireland, with the Cairngorms National Park accounting for 570,000 visitors and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park generating a further 482,000.
These park-loving visitors contributed £243m to the Scottish economy - an increase in spend of 25% on the previous year (2011).
The report gives a detailed insight into the habits of the parks’ visitors, their favourite activities such as sightseeing and rambling, and where they come from, with Loch Lomond welcoming the most Germans and the Cairngorms most Americans.
As key partners in the Year of Natural Scotland 2013 campaign, both parks have been playing an integral role in the initiative, embracing projects such as the search for Scotland’s Big 5 animals, as well as holding their own events throughout the year.
Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland and former Convener of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, said: “Our two National Parks play a vital role in the Scottish tourism economy, and our domestic visitors contribute hugely to this. This year’s celebrations for the Year of Natural Scotland have provided a fantastic opportunity to promote these treasured idylls, and we hope that these tremendous figures will grow even further.”
Fiona Logan, CEO of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, commented: “We are committed to providing a high quality visitor experience for the millions of people who come and enjoy the rich and diverse landscape Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park has to offer.
We have worked hard to raise the quality of the National Park as a destination and have invested in visitor infrastructure such as piers and pontoons, water bus services and our National Park ranger service. These latest visitor figures are credit not only to the stunning natural beauty of our National Parks but also the quality service provided by our tourism businesses.”
Grant Moir, Chief Executive of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, added:“The Cairngorms National Park is an outstanding holiday destination with fantastic scenery, an abundance of wildlife and great facilities available all year round. Whether its action and adventure or peace and tranquillity that people are looking for, it’s all here. Scotland’s National Parks are very young compared to others in the UK and across the globe – the Cairngorms National Park celebrates its 10th birthday this year, a mere youngster – yet it’s making a significant contribution to the Scottish economy. It has certainly proved a very popular destination with the rise of the “staycation” in recent years and with the weather we’ve had recently, why go anywhere else.”
To celebrate National Parks Week and the Year of Natural Scotland, VisitScotland is supporting the Get Active event at Loch Lomond Shores of Friday 2 August and Cairngorms Bike Festival on Sunday 4 August.
Earlier this year saw the first ever John Muir Day, which celebrated 175th anniversary of the birth of Scottish-born explorer and “father of National Parks”. As part of the Homecoming 2014 celebrations there will be further events surrounding his life and legacy, including the opening of the new 100-mile John Muir Coast to Coast Trail.
The Year of Natural Scotland 2013 provides visitors with the ideal opportunity to become immersed in all things Scottish, from the rugged scenery of the Highlands and the splendour of the national parks to the freshness of the natural larders and the warm welcome from people who passionately care about this wild land.
The Scottish National Parks Sector Review: 2012 available to view here
ENDS
For further information please contact:
James Fox
Corporate Press Officer
Corporate Communications
VisitScotland
Tel: 0131 472 2052
Email: james.fox@visitscotland.com
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- statistics
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 has three key roles:
- To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
- To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
- To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
- 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.
- 2014 is the year Scotland welcomes the world, when it hosts the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and more than 800 Homecoming events throughout the country.For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2014, go to www.visitscotland.com
- The VisitScotland Information Centre network is a unique face-to-face channel engaging with around five million visitors and locals each year. Everyone who uses a VisitScotland Information Centre goes on to spend an additional £5.35, generating over £24 million for Scotland’s economy.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, tourism employs 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the industry 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 tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
- For more information on VisitScotland’s annual review please go to www.visitscotland.org/about_us/our_focus/annual_report.aspx
