Highland Council To Set Up Tourism Working Group
14th December 2017
The Highland Council has agreed to set up a tourism working group to take a strategic overview and set priorities to support the success and growth of tourism in the Highlands.
The Council has also agreed to identify financial support that allows EventScotland and their partners to bid for future major International events to be hosted in Highland.
Sustainable tourism is one of Scotland's key growth sectors and is the Highlands' most important industry, generating significant economic benefits for the area, worth £965m of direct spend by tourists in 2016 and a further £226m of indirect expenditure by the tourism industry purchasing goods and services in Highland. This brings a total economic impact of £1.2 billion, directly supporting over 24,000 jobs.
Tourism has seen a period of sustained growth with the overall economic impact of tourism growing by 34% over the period 2012 - 2016 and 2017 has been another exceptionally successful year. One early indicator, the number of visits to visitor attractions, has seen numbers increase by 8.7% for the period January to September 2017 - double the rate of increase of 4.3% seen in the rest of Scotland.
In addition to providing economic benefits, tourism also brings a range of wider benefits to Highland and many of its communities, supporting a range of local services, an increased numbers of air routes and helping to position Highland as an attractive place which in turn assists in attracting inward investment.
Globally one of the growth areas in tourism has been in event tourism such as mountain biking, golf and music events. Attracting and retaining such events in Highland is not necessarily straightforward, and requires significant resource to support such bids.
Chair of the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee, Cllr Allan Henderson said: "The significant success of tourism in the Highlands is to be welcomed. We are a region which is rich in scenery, culture and heritage and it is wonderful to see tourists flocking here to experience our beautiful Highlands.
"Notwithstanding the welcome increase in tourists, the Council recognises the need to resolve a number of infrastructure challenges in order to support the continued growth and success of tourism in the region. Resolving these issues is not something that the Council can accomplish on its own. It will require both a joined up approach between the Council, communities, businesses and in some cases other public sector partners and will also require additional resources. However, the Council is well placed to take an overview of these issues and has the ability to play a significant role in addressing many of them together with our partners and other agencies."
The pressures on infrastructure vary from place to place and indeed across the year but some key issues include inadequate parking at popular tourist sites; extensive single track roads not designed with this level of use in mind; a lack of public toilets in some locations; irresponsible (and illegal) disposal of waste; increased erosion of paths; and limited electric vehicle charging points."
Cllr Henderson added: “We welcome the Scottish Government’s recent recognition of the issues and announcement of a Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund. Details of how the fund might be used and by whom have yet to be announced, but £6 million shared across Scotland over 2 years, will not make much of an impact on challenges of this scale.”
Related Businesses
Related Articles
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Households across Scotland have received £4.1 billion in relief since the Council Tax Reduction scheme was introduced in 2013. People on low incomes are eligible for the benefit if they live in Scotland - there is no equivalent in England where most councils require each household to contribute a minimum amount of council tax, irrespective of ability to do so.
The Highland Council is preparing to carry out improvement works in Thurso at Ormlie Road and at The Mall riverside path adjacent to Janet Street. The scope of works on Ormlie Road will include junction improvements between Castlegreen Road and Juniper Drive with new drop kerbs and tactile paving and some surface repairs.
A Highland-wide partnership launched earlier in 2024 to support people on their journey towards, into and within employment is looking forward to a New Year in 2025 full of exciting opportunities designed to help hundreds more people across the Highlands unlock their work potential. Work.
The Highland Council is delighted to share that its Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme has won the Outstanding Project Award at the Scottish Green Energy Awards. Described by Scottish Renewables as a "pioneering clean power scheme", this £7 million project demonstrates the incredible impact that can be achieved through combined public and private sector investment.
The ambitious yet focused ‘Highland Investment Plan' is committed to addressing our asset challenges over the next twenty years. By using a place based approach, to ensure a more integrated community offering through the creation of new community facilities.
Applications to the Inverness Winter Payments Scheme, which is fully funded by the Inverness Common Fund, have already been awarded to 1,035 eligible households within the 7 specified Inverness Wards. Leader of Inverness Area, Councillor Ian Brown said: "Since the Scheme was opened to applications for this winter, already £114,885 has been awarded to people who live in the eligible Wards of Aird and Loch Ness, Inverness West, Inverness Central, Inverness Ness-side, Inverness Millburn, Culloden and Ardersier and Inverness South Wards.
The first Highland-wide virtual jobs fair held last month has proved to be a hit with participants and businesses. The week-long virtual event, which was delivered by the Local Employability Partnership for the West - The Highland Council, Skills Development Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Department for Work and Pensions, Developing the Young Workforce and UHI North West and Hebrides was timed to coincide with Scottish Careers Week 2024.
