Assessing the economic impacts of nature based tourism in Scotland

oute was estimated to be in the region of £423,087 in 2004. The economic calculation
for this was based on data provided by the long distance walkers, rather than from all
walkers. Whilst those using the route on a more casual basis are likely to spend money
in the course of their day, it was not considered appropriate to attribute this spend
directly to the Southern Upland Way.
Most long distance walkers using the route were from England or mainland Europe.
The majority of other users were on a short walk close to home and contributed little
towards overall economic benefit. The scenery/landscape and weather were
considered by both the Long Distance Walkers and other Southern Upland Way users
to be particularly satisfying elements of their journey. Peacefulness/solitude,
wildlife/nature and good signage/waymarking were also amongst the most frequently
cited elements of journey satisfaction.
As a comparison to the Southern Upland Way, 125 questionnaires were given to users
of the West Highland Way in 2004 as part of the study. 52 questionnaires were
returned (41.6% return rate) representing 172 people. Scenery was a key motivator for
way walkers. In the absence of any official figures, it was estimated by one service
provider that 18,000 walkers walked the entire length of the way generating £5.8
million in expenditure. For 2004, the study records the official web site for the West
Highland Way as suggesting up to 50,000 people used parts of the way. Given its
location, some of these users would be tourists.
On the Great Glen Way, the average walker is reported by British Waterways (not part
of the Southern Upland Way study) as spending approximately £55 per day locally for
overnight visits and £14 per day for day visits. This is equivalent to a total visitor
spend of approximately £1.27 million (3,000 whole route walkers x £55 x 6 nights +
20,000 day walkers x £14).
6.7 Other reports
• A Walking Strategy for Scotland Consultation Document (Scottish Executive,
2003).
VisitScotland estimated that the walking market generated over 1 million trips
annually, with visitors staying for a total of over 9 million bednights and spending
over £400 million.
6.8 Skiing and snow sports
Online research in 2006 with 2,137 consumers from the Ski Scotland Snow Alert
database (Ski Scotland Online Research, 2006) showed that, unsurprisingly, the
availability of snow is the main motivator for skiers/snowboarders in their decision to
take a trip in Scotland. Were there to be no snow they would either not ski or ski
elsewhere. This suggests it is questionable whether expenditure from skiers and snow
boarders should be attributed to the natural heritage. A possible exception could be the
small numbers of ski mountaineers and ski tourers who do not rely on mechanical uplift
and are more like walkers in their attitudes to the natural heritage.
No comprehensive economic impact reports on snow sports have been produced for
many years, and impacts in the average year will now be much lower than twenty
years ago when there was considerable research on skier visit patterns and
expenditures through surveys of the visitors to ski resorts.
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