Statement of SNH's approach and contribution to Scottish tourism - April 2019
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Statement of SNH’s approach and
contribution to Scottish tourism
April 2019
Tourists on the Isle of May ©Lorne Gill/SNH
Contents
Vision
Background
How our tourism work aligns with corporate and government priorities
Our added value – strengthening nature and landscape’s contribution to tourism
Engagement with stakeholders and partnership working
Our priorities
Annex 1: Scottish Tourism
Annex 2: Summary of 2008 Board paper
Annex 3: Key Stakeholder Engagement
Annex 4: Explore for a Day
Vision
1. Scottish Natural Heritage’s (SNH’s) vision is for all visitors to have the opportunity to
enjoy and appreciate Scotland’s nature as part of a high quality experience. This
statement outlines SNH’s role and ambitions in support of Scottish tourism, one of the
nation’s most important economic sectors. It focuses on where and how we can add
value by aligning our work with the tourism industry, building on our wider efforts to
maintain the natural assets that underpin the sector, and sets out our priorities and the
actions required to deliver them.
2. SNH last set out its role and support for the industry in 2008 in a joint SNH and
VisitScotland Board paper (see Annex 2). The industry has since published Tourism
Scotland 2020 (2012), with a new strategy due to be published in October 2019.
Background
3. Scotland’s nature and landscape is the main motivation for tourist visits, and critical
asset for the £4.4 billion industry. Our tourism work is a key way to demonstrate how
nature and landscape contribute to Scotland’s prosperity, in support of its positioning as
a ‘green’ and competitive destination. It offers us the opportunity to increase our profile,
with Scottish Government and business by making stronger connections between
nature, landscape and the economy, and with the rural communities that welcome and
host visitors.
4. We currently undertake a range of activities to support tourism including:
1
developing nature-based tourism demonstration projects through partnership
working with industry and public sector stakeholders (e.g. Wild about Argyll – a
capacity building and skills development project)
building knowledge and skills in the tourism industry (through natural heritage
familiarisation visits and workshops);
providing information for visitors (for example Explore for a day leaflets, see Annex
4) and promoting Scotland’s outdoor access rights;
managing our National Nature Reserves as key tourism assets and promoting the
wider suite;
developing and promoting national recreation infrastructure including the
National Walking and Cycling Network and Scotland’s Great Trails, and delivering the
Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund; and
promoting sustainable management and enjoyment of the natural heritage
through our wider advisory work on landscape, recreation & access, biodiversity and
geodiversity.
5. Our direct investment is very modest, driven by one full time Tourism Officer (D Grade) in
support of Operations staff.
How our tourism work aligns with corporate and government priorities
6. Tourism is recognised by Scottish Government as one of six growth sectors1 (in which
Scotland has been identified as having a distinct comparative advantage), and is a vital
contributor to the economy of more rural regions. Provision of necessary visitor
infrastructure is recognised in Scotland’s Third National Planning Framework and
Scottish Planning Policy, alongside the need to safeguard natural and cultural assets
and facilitate their sustainable use. The 2012 national strategy Tourism Scotland 2020,
aspires to grow the sector by £1 billion in real terms by 2020, with Scotland ‘a destination
of first choice for a high quality…and memorable experience’.
7. Our tourism work supports these. With a focus on connecting people with nature, our
tourism work contributes to Corporate Plan Outcome 1 (More people across Scotland
are enjoying and benefiting from nature), and Outcome 3 (More investment in Scotland’s
natural capital and its management to improve prosperity and wellbeing).
Our added value – strengthening nature and landscape’s contribution to tourism
8. SNH has demonstrated that we can play a leading role in developing and supporting
nature based tourism to generate maximum economic impact, with relatively modest
investment. Our work in the Outer Hebrides, for example, helped to develop a tourist
sector where nature and landscape are recognised as critical assets, contributing
significantly to a sector worth over £50 million each year. We will continue to target our
engagement and support where we can best add value, seizing new opportunities.
a. The next, Year of Coasts and Waters 2020, is an opportunity to highlight and
develop the very significant economic benefits arising from our high quality
freshwater, coastal and marine landscapes and wildlife, and raise understanding as
part of the visitor experience.
b. Our flagship National Nature Reserves attract over a million visitors every year.
These protected areas, alongside broader initiatives such as the Wester Ross and
1
Identified in Scotland’s Economic Strategy (2015)
2Galloway Biospheres and World Heritage Sites, should be part of delivering
destinations of excellence.
c. Scotland’s progressive access legislation supports the growing demand for
adventure tourism. 90 million trips are already made on the National Walking
Cycling Network each year, generating £85 million of expenditure in local
economies, with the Scotland Great Trails brand of 27 long distance routes
covering much of Scotland.
d. Increasing evidence of high and damaging tourism pressure (for example in Skye
and around the North Coast 500), highlight the need for a renewed focus on
sustainable tourism, and encouraging the industry to invest in the natural asset
they depend on, building on our delivery of the £5.5m ERDF Natural and Cultural
Heritage Fund and involvement with the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund.
e. The various City, Region and Island Deals recognise tourism’s economic potential
and we can add value to their delivery of nature based tourism.
Engagement with stakeholders and partnership working
9. Working in partnership is essential to delivering our tourism work. We have strong and
close working relationships with the key national tourism bodies including VisitScotland
and the industry-led Scottish Tourism Alliance, and with a number of destination
management organisations and sector interests. Our delivery of the ERDF Natural and
Cultural Heritage fund across the Highlands and Islands will strengthen these links.
10. We will continue to build relationships with public sector organisations and the tourism
industry. Annex 3 shows current stakeholders and our intended levels of engagement.
Our priorities
11. To support our vision for all visitors to have the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate
Scotland’s nature as part of a high quality experience, we will be focusing our work
on four cross-cutting themes: visitors, business, sustainability and communications.
a) Visitors
- Promote key natural assets as essential tourism destinations (including the
National Walking and Cycling Network, Scotland’s Great Trails, Biosphere
Reserves, National Scenic Areas, National Nature Reserves and World Heritage
Sites).
- Promote ways for visitors to enjoy and access nature sustainably.
b) Business
- Work with the industry and destinations to support nature based tourism
development in rural areas.
- Promote the economic benefits of investing in nature and encourage tourism
businesses to more actively invest in Scotland’s natural capital.
- Build on our delivery role for the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund and seek
opportunities for new partnerships post ERDF funding.
c) Sustainability
- Promote environmental sustainability to the tourism industry, particularly in areas
of increasing pressure on the natural assets.
- Promote environmental sustainability as part of the upcoming revision of the
National Tourism Strategy and future NPF4.
3d) Communications
- Play a leadership role in inspiring visitors and the tourism industry about
Scotland’s nature, access rights and how to enjoy nature responsibly.
- Work with VisitScotland to provide relevant content to their and other partners’
communication platforms.
- Promote our tourism work more widely with Scottish Government.
- Raise the profile of our tourism work internally within SNH.
Scottish Natural Heritage April 2019
Contact:
Maren Ebeling, Tourism Officer
Direct Dial: 01463 725321
Email: maren.ebeling@nature.scot
4Annex 1: Scottish Tourism
A1.1 The tourism sector is of vital importance to the Scottish economy. In 2016, Scotland
welcomed over 14.3 million overnight visitors and 142 million day visits. In the same
year expenditure by visitors to Scotland was valued at around £9.7 billion.
Employment in the tourism-related industries sector in Scotland was 207,000 in 2016
– accounting for around 8% of employment in Scotland. Visitors from across Great
Britain represent the majority of visitors. Tourism plays a particular important
economic role in Scotland’s rural areas. In 2016, 14% of jobs in ‘remote rural’ areas
were in the tourism sector (in size this is third only to the public sector and
agriculture).
A1.2 The national tourism strategy, Tourism Scotland 2020, was launched in June 2012
with an ambition to grow visitor spend by £1bn to 2020. The strategy was developed
to target those markets that offer the greatest growth potential, to collaborate within
and across Scotland’s tourism destinations and to develop the authentic memorable
experiences today’s visitors seek, delivered to the consistently high quality they
expect.
A1.3 Nature-based tourism, including activities based on Scotland’s landscapes and
wildlife, makes a very substantial contribution to the tourism sector. Tourist spending
on nature based activities is worth nearly 40% of all tourism spending. Its value to
Scotland’s economy is £1.4 billion per year, supporting 39,000 jobs (FTEs). Trends
show that nature based tourism and specifically ‘soft adventure’ activities are on the
rise.
Annex 2: Summary of 2008 SNH board paper
A2.1 The direction of SNH’s tourism work has been guided in recent years by a joint paper
which was discussed by the SNH and VisitScotland boards in 2008. Since then we
have successfully delivered many tourism projects, and become a key partner in
supporting tourism development in rural areas of Scotland and at a national level.
A2.2 The tourism priorities set out in the 2008 SNH board paper included:
Policy and liaison – mainly through joint working with VisitScotland, the Area
Tourism Partnerships and other partners
Sustainability – through active membership of the Sustainable Tourism
Partnership (which ceased to exist when the new tourism strategy was prepared
in 2009/10)
Protected areas – by focussing on National Nature Reserves (NNRs), National
Scenic Areas (NSAs), Geoparks, Biosphere reserves and natural World Heritage
Sites (both existing and proposed).
Recreation and access – through partnership working with other organisations
in particular with VisitScotland
Communication – with specific emphasis on improved provision of information
on ‘where to go and what to see’ to the industry (skills development) and the
visitors (enhancing quality of experience)
5Annex 3: Key Stakeholder Engagement
Future level of
Stakeholder Current level of engagement
engagement
Scottish Providing advice on Ministerial Continue established
Government (SG) enquiries, strategic development and ways of working; prompt
Culture, Tourism major projects; tourism funding (lead on occasional senior liaison
and Major Events ERDF Natural & Cultural Heritage with SG Tourism Team.
Directorate Fund; supporting VisitScotland Rural
(Tourism Team) Tourism Infrastructure Fund); marine
and forest tourism
VisitScotland (VS) Working with VS on strategic and Further strengthen
promotional levels (Scottish Outdoor established ways of
Access Code, National Walking and working and opportunities
Cycling Network, Rural Tourism to promote our natural
Infrastructure Fund). Annual CEO assets.
liaison. VS also member of Natural
Capital Round Table.
Scottish Tourism Main link to the tourism industry and Continue established
Alliance driver behind Tourism 2020 strategy, ways of working.
which SNH support through our work.
Rural Destination Selective working with and advice on Continue active support
Management strategic development and of priority regional
Organisations demonstration projects, supporting local projects (ensuring a
economies. national spread)
Tourism Interest Direct support of key groups and Continue to appraise
Groups participation in working groups (eg SNH’s added value on a
(destination and NC500 Working Group, Wild Scotland case by case basis.
activities). and Developing Mountain Biking in
Scotland).
Enterprise Information exchange and ad hoc joint Develop relationship and
Companies project working. actively seek out more
areas of joint working.
Forestry and Land Information exchange and ad hoc joint Develop relationship and
Scotland project working. actively seek out more
areas of joint working.
Historic Selective working. Develop relationship and
Environment share site management
Scotland experience.
6Annex 4: Explore for a Day
Our Explore for a Day series promotes natural and cultural heritage attractions in rural
Scotland across 14 destinations from Caithness to Galloway. Over 700,000 copies have
been distributed over the years, with the publication highly popular with Visitor Centres and
businesses as they provide added value to the customers’ experience. We regularly receive
enquiries from new areas seeking us to develop an ‘Explore’ leaflet. Sample text from
Scottish Borders leaflet below (map not shown):
7You can also read
