To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of the outcomes in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021 of Scotland's Year of Coasts and Waters 2020; what its (i) direct and (ii) indirect costs were; what its budget was for the Year; how many events were held in each local authority area; on what date each event occurred, and how much was spent on each event.
2020 was designated Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters, a year that would spotlight, celebrate and promote opportunities to experience and enjoy Scotland’s unrivalled coasts and waters, encouraging responsible engagement and participation. The visitor opportunity in terms of experiences and events was broadly presented across four cross cutting strands:
1. Our Natural Environment and Wildlife
2. Our Historic Environment and Cultural Heritage
3. Activities and Adventure
4. Food and Drink
Originally scheduled for 2020, as a result of the COVID pandemic, and following discussion with the events and tourism industry, Scottish Ministers agreed to extend the year into 2021.
Analysis of Outcomes
Despite the impact of COVID, the Year of Coasts and Waters exceeded the targets set by the external Steering Group, delivering activity in communities across Scotland and playing an important part in the recovery of the events, tourism and associated sectors.
VisitScotland will shortly provide an evaluation of the year, which will be available on www.visitscotland.org . Initial findings from the year report success against the five agreed key objectives for a Themed Year: Promotion, Celebration, Participation, Collaboration and Industry Engagement.
Headline outcomes include:
- Promotion : the award-winning PR campaign achieved at least 3,662 pieces of media coverage generating a world-wide media reach of circa 3.7 billion whilst the marketing campaigns reached 196.4 million.
- Celebration: 110 events were delivered across the funded and (non-funded) partner events programmes. All 32 local authorities hosted activity and all events were delivered safely within the relevant COVID guidance.
- Participation: almost 1.1 million attendances were recorded across the 28 funded events. This included 702,000 in-person attendances and 389,000 at digital events. Of those participants who responded, 79 per cent said they will appreciate Scotland’s coasts and waters more, 67 per cent said they will get out, by or on the water more and 63 per cent said they planned to take a more active role in the preservation of our coasts and waters and-or marine environment.
- Collaboration: More than 30 organisations were involved in the Steering and Working Groups and were directly involved in shaping, promoting and delivering the year. Demonstrating the level of collaboration, the campaign hashtags were used more than 122,000 times by hundreds of organisations and individuals, all co-promoting the year. Many collaborative projects were also created in response to the Year – e.g. 18 Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and partners came together to create the West Coast Waters campaign, reaching around 2 million and creating a legacy of partnership working.
- Industry Engagement : Pre 2020 69 per cent of tourism businesses were already aware of the planned Year of Coasts and Waters, 31 per cent were already engaged and 80 per cent of those not engaged were considering it. 76 industry presentations reached at least 2,000 tourism industry representatives. This resulted in over 18,000 views of the online industry toolkit and 896 logos (including 165 Gaelic versions) were downloaded to support partner promotional activity. 11 case studies and 18 interviews showcasing industry engagement were published on visitscotland.org generating 7,000+ page views.
The Year of Coasts and Waters 2020-21 put sustainability and responsible tourism at its heart and worked with supported events organisers to advance responsible events delivery practices. This resulted in:
- Positive Impact : 100 per cent of funded events said that being part of the Year of Coasts and Waters had a positive impact on the way they would work in future.
- Higher Prioritisation – 93 per cent were encouraged to think more about sustainable events management.
- New Processes – 68 per cent of event organisers implemented a new activity or process in managing their environmental impacts.
Direct Cost
Direct cost incurred by the Scottish Government for the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020-21 was the budget of £1.14 million over FY 2019-20 and 2020-21. Of this, £1.09 million was allocated to VisitScotland and £50,000 via a grant to YouthLink Scotland to support the Micro Local Area Grant (MoLAG) programme.
Other public bodies and partners including VisitScotland also supported the year through their own resources, with a wide range of projects and campaigns created or aligned to take advantage of the collaborative platform created by the Year of Coasts and Waters.
Indirect Costs
In terms of indirect costs, within the Scottish Government, work on the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020-21 was coordinated by the then Major Events and Themed Years Unit. With 2.6 FTE members of staff incorporating this as part of their existing roles: the overall resource allocation for the year was less than 2.6 FTE as the team also worked on other projects. In addition, a small number of other civil servants in different teams across a range of portfolios contributed to varying extents as part of their wider responsibilities. In line with usual practice, details of individual tasks associated with the year carried out by civil servants, including the number of hours spent on them, are not routinely recorded because there is no business need to do this.
Year of Coasts and Waters 2020-21 Events
Across the Funded and Partner event programmes 110 events were delivered with activity taking place across all 32 local authorities. Of the 36 events initially awarded funding support through the Year of Coasts and Waters Open Events Fund, some were unable to progress due to COVID. 28 were eventually able to progress and were delivered across 26 local authority areas.
Alongside the Funded events, unfunded Partner events were still supported through the free marketing and media resources offered by VisitScotland. 174 events initially registered as Partner Events across 30 local authorities, with 82 events of these unfunded events eventually able to go ahead when COVID conditions allowed.
The following table therefore shows the locations (including across multiple local authority areas), grant awards and final dates for the 28 events funded through the Year of Coasts and Waters Open Fund administered by VisitScotland.
Event Name | Organiser | Local Authorities | Grant | Final Delivery Dates (2020-21 |
British and Scottish National Surfing Championships | Scottish Surfing Federation | Highland | £10,000 | 13 - 14 Apr 2021 |
Canal Encounters | Falkirk Community Trust Ltd (in partnership with Scottish Canals) | Falkirk | £35,000 | 1 Aug - 30 Sep 2021 |
Carry Me Home: A Ferry Tale | National Theatre of Scotland | Glasgow City; North Ayrshire | £40,000 | 27 Oct 2021 |
Clydebuilt | Clyde Maritime Trust | Glasgow City | £24,202 | 1 - 17 Dec 2021 |
Culzean By The Sea | National Trust for Scotland | South Ayrshire | £11,039 | 31 May - 24 Oct 2021 |
DolphinFest | RSPB Scotland | Aberdeen City | £20,000 | 7 - 11 Apr 2021 |
Edinburgh International Science Festival: Water for Life | Edinburgh Science Foundation Ltd | City of Edinburgh | £40,000 | 18 Mar - 27 Apr 2020 |
Everything Flows: Doon the Watter | Glasgow Photography Group Ltd | Argyll and Bute; Comhairle nan Eilean Siar; Glasgow City; Highland; Inverclyde; North Ayrshire | £10,000 | 23 July - 15 December 2021 |
Fèis an Eilein - Skye Festival | Skye Events for All (SEALL) | Highland | £15,000 | 5 Jul - 25 Sep 2021 |
Feis Chala An t-sruthair | The Scottish Fisheries Museum Trust Ltd | Fife | £24,000 | 3 - 5 Sep 2021 |
Findhorn Bay Arts - Source to the Sea | Findhorn Bay Arts Ltd | Moray | £27,000 | Jul - Sep 2021 |
Glasgow Canal Festival Carnival: Canal Days Out | Glasgow Canals Coop Ltd | Glasgow City | £10,000 | 18 & 25 Sep 2021 |
Isle Martin Seaweed Festival | Isle Martin Trust | Highland | £15,000 | 6 - 12 Sep 2021 |
Launch! On the Sea with Scotland's Lifeboats | Screen Argyll Limited (in collaboration with Royal National Lifeboat Institution) | Aberdeen City; Aberdeenshire; Angus; Argyll and Bute; Comhairle nan Eilean Siar; City of Edinburgh; Dumfries and Galloway; Falkirk; Fife; Glasgow City; Highland; Inverclyde; Moray; Shetland Islands; Stirling | £20,000 | 18 Jan 2020 - 22 Jan 2022 |
Lightwaves | Historic Environment Scotland | City of Edinburgh | £35,000 | 24 Sep 2021 |
Loch Ken Wild Swim | Loch Ken Advisory Management Committee | Dumfries and Galloway | £8,812 | 10 - 11 Sep 2021 |
Marine Fest | Scottish Seabird Centre | East Lothian | £10,000 | 31 May - 13 Jun 2021 |
Nevis Water Stories | Nevis Ensemble | Aberdeen City; Aberdeenshire; Argyll and Bute; East Ayrshire; East Lothian; Edinburgh City; Glasgow City; Highland; North Ayrshire | £35,000 | Aug 2020 - Dec 2021 |
Northern Lights Festival | Lyth Arts Centre Ltd | Highland | £25,000 | 8 - 16 Oct 2021 |
Paisley Halloween Festival: Enchanted River | Renfrewshire Council | Renfrewshire | £37,400 | 28 Oct - 1 Nov 2021 |
RowAround Scotland | Scottish Coastal Rowing Association | Aberdeenshire; Angus; Argyll and Bute; Scottish Borders; Comhairle nan Eilean Siar; Dumfries and Galloway; Dundee City; East Lothian; Fife; Glasgow City; Highland; North Ayrshire; Orkney Islands; Perth and Kinross; South Ayrshire | £11,000 | Mar - Sep 2020 2 Jun - 30 Oct 2021 |
Scottish Traditional Boat Festival: Ahoy Portsoy | Portsoy Community Enterprise | Aberdeenshire | £12,440 | 26 - 27 Jun 2021 |
Signal-On-Sea | Cryptic Glasgow Ltd | North Ayrshire | £31,780 | 16 - 25 Jul 2021 |
StAnza 2020 | StAnza: Scotland's Poetry Festival | Fife | £10,000 | 3 - 8 Mar 2020 |
STORM | Vision Mechanics | City of Edinburgh; East Lothian; Glasgow City; East Lothian; Clackmannanshire; Fife; Moray; Highland; Dundee; North Ayrshire; Dumfries and Galloway; Argyll and Bute; City of Edinburgh; Falkirk | £22,500 | 18 Jan 2020 and 14 Aug - 6 Nov 2021 |
Stornoway on the Ocean - Steòrnabhagh air a’Chùan | Stornoway Port Authority | Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | £23,700 | 27 - 28 Aug 2021 |
Travelling Gallery: Shapes of Water Tour | Travelling Gallery | Aberdeenshire; City of Edinburgh; East Lothian; East Renfrewshire; Falkirk; Highland; North Ayrshire; North Lanarkshire; Orkney Islands; Perth and Kinross; Renfrewshire; Scottish Borders; South Ayrshire | £19,500 | 26 Apr - 2 Nov 2021 |
Your Tay Your Adventure | Tay and Earn Trust (in partnership with The Willowgate Activity Centre, The Scottish Canoe Association and Perth & Kinross Council) | Perth and Kinross Council | £23,300 | 1 Jun - 30 Oct 2021 |
| | TOTAL: | £606,673 | |
Micro Local Area Grant (MoLAG) Programme
The Scottish Government, through a grant to YouthLink Scotland, funded the Micro Local Area Grant (MoLAG) programme during 2020 and 2021. The aim of the programme was to enable communities to celebrate the year and support activities that specifically enabled more young people to connect with Scotland’s coasts and waters. The MoLAG fund outcomes were:
(i) Communities are more aware of their existing assets (culture, heritage, landscape and waters, community based skills, cuisine etc.);
(ii) Improved community integration and regeneration; and
(iii) enhanced visitor experience during YCW2020 and beyond.
The maximum grant per project was £2,000. Several projects, which were successful in their original funding application, had to withdraw due to COVID restrictions. The others ran over extended periods during 2020 and-or 2021. Projects involved local groups working with young people to facilitate informal education and learning.
The following table therefore shows the locations, grant awards and final dates for the 18 events funded through the Year of Coasts and Waters Micro Local Area Grant (MoLAG) Programme, administered by YouthLink Scotland.
Organisation | Local Authority Area | Award | Date |
Fraserburgh Sea Cadets | Aberdeenshire | £1,700 | 04-07-20 to 16-08-20 |
Angus Young | Angus | £2,000 | 09-04-20 to 31-12-20 |
Stranraer YMCA | Dumfries and Galloway | £1,930 | 06-08-20 to 13-09-20 |
Stranraer Youth Cafe | Dumfries and Galloway | £2,000 | 03-05-20 to 31-07-20 |
Young Hands | Dumfries and Galloway | £1,860 | 06-04-20 to 30-10-20 |
Barnhill After School Care Club | Dundee | £900 | 30-03-20 to 16-10-20 |
Archaeology Scotland-Citadel Youth | Edinburgh | £1,753 | 01-04-20 to 31-07-20 |
Cupar Youth Cafe | Fife | £1,640 | 07-04-20 to 01-12-20 |
Cromarty Rowing Club | Highland | £2,000 | 18-04-20 to 19-04-20 |
RIG Arts | Inverclyde | £1,986 | 06-04-20 to 17-04-20 |
Leap Sports Scotland | North Ayrshire | £1,800 | 01-06-20 to 30-09-20 |
Renfrew YMCA | Renfrewshire | £1,660 | 01-04-20 to 30-11-20 |
TD1 Youth Club | Scottish Borders | £1,874 | 01-04-20 to 31-12-20 |
Shetland Ambassadors | Shetland Islands | £2,000 | 01-04-20 to 31-12-20 |
Shetland Youth and Employability Services | Shetland Islands | £2,000 | 01-06-20 to 30-09-20 |
South Ayrshire Council | South Ayrshire | £2,000 | 01-07-20 to 14-08-20 |
Barra Youth Cafe | Western Isles | £2,000 | 01-06-20 to 31-10-20 |
Cothram-Uist Youth Café | Western Isles | £2,000 | 02-06-20 to 30-10-20 |
TOTAL | | £33,103 | |