Question reference: S6W-02653
- Asked by: Evelyn Tweed, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 6 September 2021
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Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 September 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported high numbers of people visiting Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, what (a) action it is taking to support local communities and public authorities to manage any increased visitor activity, while maintaining access to services for residents, and (b) funding is available for investment in infrastructure, including in visitor facilities, public transport and active travel, to support the area to manage the experiences of both visitors and residents.
Answer
The Scottish Government and VisitScotland are in close contact with Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park (LLTNPA) and other partners on a regular basis. Working with LLTNP, VisitScotland has led a responsible tourism marketing campaign and developed a national action plan for visitor management to help meet the challenges of the 2021 season while international travel has remained restricted.
The LLTNPA has worked in collaboration with other public bodies to address and manage visitor pressures through the National Park Safe Recovery Action Group. It’s Visitor Management Plans - Respect Protect Enjoy -Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park (lochlomond-trossachs.org) sets out the extensive range of measures and resources put in place for the 2021 season. The partners continue to meet every Monday to discuss emerging issues, solutions and opportunities. It is recognised that some challenges will require longer term solutions.
Localised visitor management groups have also been established this summer. Meetings have been held to ensure stakeholders (communities, land managers, businesses and recreation groups) are informed on the partnership work to manage visitor pressures. Recordings of each session have been published online on our Advice for Communities webpage. These sessions have included signposting to funding.
Funding of £475,000 has been provided by the Scottish Government over the last two years to the National Park to meet the costs associated with additional visitor management pressures following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. In addition to this a further £425,000 has been allocated to mitigate the wider impact of the pandemic on businesses and local communities. This funding has supported increased seasonal staff (such as rangers), toilet provision and signage among other things.
The Scottish Government also increased in the Park Authority’s Capital budget by £540,000 for 2021-22 to deliver visitor infrastructure improvements and develop a capital investment plan to better support visitor management. This also enabled the organisation to establish a £250,000 Green Recovery Fund.
LLTNPA has received £100k from Transport Scotland towards a Sustainable Visitor Transport Co-ordination Project and a parallel Shuttle Bus Pilot in 2022 which focuses on visitor hot spots.