KAYAKING, coastal rowing and stand-up paddle boarding have been highlighted as opportunities as a new strategy is launched to boost marine tourism by up more than £80m over the next five years.
The Giant Stride plan launched at the Marine Tourism Conference aims to boost Scotland's reputation as "a world-class sustainable marine tourism destination" by meeting changing consumer, workforce, community and environmental needs and grow the industry’s economic contribution to over £500 million by 2025.
It aims to build on the last five-year strategy called Awakening the Giant which set out to grow visitor expenditure from £101m to £145m and increase the sector’s overall economic value from £360m to over £450m by 2020. The latest figures produced show that visitor spending was at £131m while the overall economic value of the sector was put at £411m.
The strategy, which was developed by British Marine with support from Scottish Canals, Royal Yachting Association Scotland and Sail Scotland, highlighted kayaking, coastal rowing and stand up paddleboarding as a "growing activity" and should be targeted.
It also highlights "over-tourism" in some "high demand locations" as an emerging challenge, "with some communities feeling significant and unwelcome pressures from visitors".
It said: "The vision we have laid out is ambitious but will only be achieved if we can gather and coordinate the right levels of investment and support. Partnership working and stakeholder engagement will be essential to realise the full potential of each activity and to drive lasting and meaningful change. All of this must take place at community, regional and national levels for us to take the giant strides we are aiming for."
To turn the strategy into focused action, the groups are to develop a partnership plan by the end of the year which supports 14 objectives which involves increases the value of marine tourism to the country, by ensuring visitors say longer, spend more and travel further, that the communities see the sector as a "force for good" and that it should be seen as a career of first choice.
But it also aims to support wildlife and address waste and emissions, to ensure infrastructure is developed sensitively.
Stuart McMillan, convenor of the cross party group said: “This is a different kind of strategy as it takes a much broader and fuller view of marine tourism and its unique role in rural, coastal and island communities.
“It marks a pronounced shift away from the classic narrow focus on financial growth to become a strategy that drives multiple benefits across communities, the environment and the economy. "
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