Millions pledged for drive to curb growing environmental impact of Scotland's tourism industry

More than £5 million has been pledged for a drive to help Scottish tourism reduce its impact on the environment, ease pressure on infrastructure and help local communities to cope with the “negative” impacts of rising visitor numbers.

The new vision for the future of Scottish tourism was unveiled in Glasgow today.

Action was announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon days after Prince Harry hosted a summit on “sustainable tourism” in Edinburgh, where he declared that some of the world’s most beautiful destinations risk being “destroyed” and their communities overwhelmed by tourists.

The new £5.5 million fund will help deliver a new 10-year blueprint which aims to transform the industry in Scotland into “pioneers for delivering responsible tourism.”

However the new national tourism strategy, which also envisages Scotland as “a world leader in 21st century tourism” by 2030, stresses that the impact of the industry will need to be “spread more evenly around the country” and that intervention will be necessary to “encourage the right growth in the right areas.

The new blueprint, entitled Scotland Outlook 2030, was developed by several industry bodies, including the biggest voice of the sector, the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), and the government-funded agencies VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise.

It admits that the industry has had to be grapple for the first time with the “global phenomenon” of overtourism, which it claims has been fuelled by social media.

It states: “Scotland has for the first time in the last few years experienced the global phenomenon of high visitor volumes in certain areas, driven by social media, which can create pressure on infrastructure, with negative impacts on local communities and widespread reporting in the media.

“While tourism has contributed to our climate emergency, it has also become vulnerable as a result and we must now take purposeful action to halt further decline, reverse damage and bring about long term change.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon unveiled the new 5.5 million Scottish tourism fund at the SEC in Glasgow.

The new Scottish tourism blueprint also commits the industry to ensure that it has a "skilled, committed, diverse and valued workforce in future.

It adds: "Our industry will be known for fair work, exciting opportunities and supportive workplaces with a workforce that more closely reflects the population of Scotland."

Speaking at the annual STA conference in Glasgow, Ms Sturgeon pointed out that the city would be hosting "probably the most important set of meetings anywhere in the world this year" when it hosts a global climate change summit.

She said: "Last year Scotland set some of the most ambitious decarbonisation targets anywhere in the world. Meeting these targets will require big changes in how we live, travel and work and will require major action across different sectors of our economy.

“I’m really glad that this new strategy recognises the important role of tourism in tackling climate change.

“It’s estimated that international tourism accounts for around eight per cent of global emissions. It’s clearly an area where Scotland, like many other countries, will need to take significant action.

“Reducing emissions is a key aspect of ensuring tourism is sustainable in the very broadest sense, which is the central aim of the new strategy.

“It recognises that while tourism brings very significant benefits, it can also create additional pressures on our environment, on infrastructure and on our communities.”

Karen Christie, project manager for the new tourism strategy, said: "As a sector, we recognise that we have a role to play in addressing the climate emergency.

"Tourism represents a significant consumer of energy and producer of waste. If not managed, it is a threat to our natural environment.

"It is important that all our businesses and employees get active now and are committed to taking consistent and sustained action to reduce our environmental impact.

"Not only do our businesses, public bodies and communities need to act responsibly, but we also need to help our visitors to behave responsibly, educating them on the impact they have on the places they visit. It is important that tourism brings net benefits to communities across Scotland and communities should have a say in the way tourism evolves locally.

"We already measure what our visitors think about Scotland. We will make it a priority to better understand the sentiment of residents towards tourism."

Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said: "The Scottish Government's funding announcement reflects a strong commitment from the Scottish Government to support this bold new ambition, Scotland being the world leader in 21st century tourism. It will deliver benefits to every person in Scotland, and our visitors."