OPINION: Highland tourism can build on offering the chance to slow down as we reset our ambitions in light of coronavirus pandemic
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VisitScotland regional leadership director for the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, Chris Taylor, says there are new opportunities for the sector on 2021.
Rewind the clock to the middle of July 2020 and thousands of tourism businesses across the Highlands were taking tentative steps towards reopening for the first time since going into lockdown in March.
While some trepidation remained, with many unknowns about how Covid-19 would develop, there was a sense of optimism that things were getting better.
In a great many parts of Highland, visitors returned over the summer to experience our traditional warmth of welcome. The advice given out was followed – check before you go, book ahead, look out for the “Good to Go” scheme and follow social distancing and other measures.
The cash injection resulting from restarting the visitor economy helped get thousands of people in our communities back to work. In the months that followed, businesses operated to a fantastically high standard and should be proud of the efforts they have made to keep everyone safe.
However, some communities also faced pressure points such as litter, parking, congestion, fires and a range of irresponsible behaviour – behaviour which was totally unacceptable. The reality is that managing these issues is complex, involving legislation around access rights, rules governing public highways, the ability for any enforcement in very rural areas, the challenges in changing behaviour patterns, as well as the timescales involved in getting planning and other consents.
At VisitScotland, we’re working hard with other public bodies, tourism groups and communities – all of whom understand the issues and are determined to address them.
Marketing the Highlands during this unusual period has provided challenges of its own. But it remains vitally important that we support our tourism industry and continue to encourage people to visit attractions, enjoy a meal out or an overnight stay, where the guidance allows.
In November and December, we ran a campaign aimed only at those living in levels one and two in the north of Scotland – to encourage people to discover or rediscover what’s on our own doorstep and experience a winter adventure in Inverness, Loch Ness and Lochaber.
The campaign has been well received and its results encouraging, with 14,100 unique views to the dedicated campaign webpage and 36,310 engagements/comments from those who saw it.
Consumer trends still show strong demand for the Highlands. Visitors are still keen to explore our scenery, culture and heritage. Importantly, Scots are rediscovering their own country. We have a unique opportunity to reset our ambitions for tourism.
In 2020 we’ve seen visitors seek out opportunities to slow down, to linger a bit longer and to support the great many local producers of food, art, crafts and textiles. We can build on this. We can work together to improve the crucial infrastructure that our visitors rely on, but that our local people benefit from too. And we can help spread the season, ease and manage pressure at honeypot sites and help communities to derive real benefit from tourism.
Tourism itself is not the end goal. Tourism is simply a brilliant way to help people and places to thrive and when we look through that lens, a new way of working becomes possible.
Chris Taylor is VisitScotland’s regional leadership director for the Highlands and Outer Hebrides.
