Responsible tourism campaign launched

We are delighted to support the new responsbile tourism campaign launched by VisitScotland today, 22 March 2021.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of exploring the outdoors responsibly with the focus on asking people to leave no trace of their visit and protect Scotland’s beautiful countryside.

Following issues experienced at some of our iconic beauty spots and parks last year, the campaign aims to engage with a new, home grown audience of visitors discovering and enjoying Scotland’s countryside and asks people to respect, protect and enjoy Scotland.

The activity, which supports the visitor management strategy announced by Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, Fergus Ewing on Friday, urges visitors to protect our countryside, respect the local communities, wildlife and landscapes but still enjoy the beautiful natural resources we have across the country.

Vicki Miller, Director of Marketing & Digital at VisitScotland said: "This campaign is hugely important particularly at this time, as we are all enjoying outdoors more due to restrictions to other sections of the tourism industry. It is imperative that we realise the impact of our visits on these areas and our individual and collective responsibility to care for Scotland.

“We want to protect the stunning landscapes and wildlife that Scotland is famous for and the local communities that are such an important part of our culture. We are asking everyone to help keep Scotland special by ensuring we protect our natural resources by being responsible and respectful when out and about.

“We have a unique opportunity to positively engage audiences to enjoy the outdoors responsibly and come together to develop a Scotland-wide strategic and coordinated approach to help protect what’s there for future visitors and aid the recovery of our rural economy.”

The national tourism organisation’s campaign is part of the Visitor Management Strategy and Steering Group, led by the Scottish Government and VisitScotland and includes three workstream groups with focuses on Education and Marketing, Investment and Infrastructure, and Prevention, Regulation & Reassurance.

We have been involved in the Education and Marketing Group along with partner organisations Cairngorms Business Partnership, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Forestry & Land Scotland, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, Lochaber Chamber, National Park Authorities, NatureScot, Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), Wild Scotland and Zero Waste Scotland; all working together to target people across Scotland with the aim of influencing them to enjoy our outdoor spaces more and in a respectful way.  

Our focus has been supporting the sub groups looking at:

• Littering – dropping and leaving litter, leaving camping equipment, broken glass
• Unsafe waste disposal – people not using designated toilets or appropriate facilities and leaving waste outdoor
• Dog control - ensuring that dogs are kept under control and people bag and bin or take home their pets poo

We will continue to work with the groups on collaborative marketing and communications opportunities throughout the year as tourism begins to reopen.

Barry Fisher, our CEO commented, "Our natural resources are vital for communities and visitors, for our economy and personal health and wellbeing, and they must be respected and protected for the enjoyment of everyone.

"Poor local environmental quality – litter, dog fouling, flytipping in particular - threatens the strength of Scotland’s tourism industry; with scenery and landscape being the most important factors motivating people to visit Scotland.

"We fully support this campaign and its messages".

Read more information on the visitor management activity and watch the responsible tourism film.