Forthbank Wind Energy Development - Partnerships for Renewables

Forthbank Wind Energy Development
Falkirk Council –
Development Plan
Coordinator
Dunmore Pineapple is a tourist attraction in the area, managed by National Trust for Scotland
(NTS).
Table 15.6 Information Sources Used in the Tourism Desk Study
Topic
Tourism
Paths
Cycling Routes
Baseline Information
Source of Information
• Clackmannanshire Council website http://www.clackmannanshiretourism.com/;
http://www.clacksweb.org.uk/visiting/;
• Visit Scotland website (www.visitscotland.com) -
http://www.visitscotland.org/research_and_statistics.aspx,
http://www.visitscottishheartlands.com/; and
• The economic impacts of wind farms on Scottish tourism, Scottish Government (2008).
Clackmannanshire Council draft core path plans
http://www.clacksweb.org.uk/environment/pathmap/
Sustrans website (www.sustrans.org.uk)
Tourism Statistics
15.4.10 Tourism is one of the biggest business sectors in Scotland worth more than £4 billion a year to
the economy and employing over 9% of the labour force. Scottish Tourism contributes 11% of
the Scottish service sector economy compared to 9% for the UK as a whole 20 . Most of this is
spent within the Highland region and in the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, though other
areas of Scotland are also visited by tourists 21 .
15.4.11 In 2008 around 15 million tourists took overnights trips to Scotland, including 17% of these
being overseas visitors. In the Argyll, The Isles, Loch Lomond and the Forth Valley area, it is
estimated that UK residents took 1.64m trips in 2008, stayed for 6.12m nights and spent
£329m in the area. Overseas visitors took 0.29m trips to the area, stayed 1.32m nights, and
spent £89m in 2008 22 .
15.4.12 Of the 26 “barometer” visitor attractions recorded by VisitScotland in the Forth Valley Local
Enterprise region (a selection of attractions used to determine year-on-year attendance), there
was a 6.4% drop in visitor numbers between 2008 (Jan-Oct) 2009 (Jan – Oct), which was the
largest drop in all the Scottish regions over the same time period 23 .
15.4.13 The number of jobs supported by tourism in the area is lower than Scotland as a whole (8.9%
of jobs). In Clackmannanshire, in 2008, 7.8% of jobs were tourism related (hotels, camp sites,
restaurants, bars, travel agencies, museums etc, sporting activities and other recreational
activities), and in the wider regional area (Clackmannanshire, Fife, Falkirk and Stirling), 8.7%
of jobs were related to tourism 24 .
Visitor Attractions
15.4.14 The Forth Valley is recognised as a historic region in Scotland 25 , and is generally visited for its
historic buildings and scenery. Clackmannanshire was at the forefront of the textile industry of
the 1800s, powered originally by water from the Ochil Hills in the north of the council area, held
within Gartmorn Reservoir and then by steam produced from coal from local coalfields. The
Mill Trail Visitor Centre in Alva, one of the industrial “Hillfoot Villages”, is one of several
attractions reflecting this industrial heritage. Alloa is also a brewery town. Clackmannan was
November 2010 Chapter 15 Page 12
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