Assessing the economic impacts of nature based tourism in Scotland

The total of which this contribution is a part is (broadly) all tourism spending in
Scotland in 2008 – as measured by the United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS) and
the International Passenger Survey (IPS) – less (a) business tourism and non-holiday
visits to friends and relatives, and (b) visits to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
As noted above, visits to Glasgow and Edinburgh will include day trips into the
countryside, but it is assumed (broadly) that these will be balanced by time spent in
cities and towns elsewhere in Scotland by other holiday visitors to Scotland. It should
also be appreciated that there are opportunities within Glasgow and Edinburgh to
enjoy Scotland’s natural heritage and that the journeys to these visitor destinations
through Scotland’s countryside will be part of their appeal for some visitors.
A proportion of visits to Glasgow and Edinburgh will be on business or non-holiday
visits to friends and relatives, and using a base of holiday visitors avoids double
counting excluded categories (a).
95% of the expenditure by visitors in Scotland primarily for a particular nature-related
purpose is assigned in the table to the natural heritage, whilst a smaller proportion of
the spending of those who will also have had other motivations is attributed to their
interest. 95% rather than 100% of a keen birdwatcher’s spending, for example, might
be allocated to the natural heritage because there might be another reason (or
reasons) for their visit in a particular year that is not natural heritage related. Also,
when people are asked in surveys about their motivations for a visit, the results tend to
be applied to the whole of their visiting party. A member of a couple not as exclusively
keen as the other on birdwatching might be attracted to Scotland partly for other
reasons, while a family will need to consider the appeal of the area of Scotland they
intend to visit to their children.
In the table, attributions to the different nature-based activities are either 95%, 40% or
20%. These are weighted averages within the following ranges: 95% = 90 - 100%;
40% = 30 - 89%; 20% = 1 - 29%. Where 40% of a walker’s expenditure is allocated to
countryside walking as a purpose for visiting Scotland, it is likely that the other 60% of
their motivation will include a proportion (possibly a high proportion) relating to other
aspects of the natural heritage – scenery, the wildlife, etc. This extra percentage is not
allocated to the walker’s expenditure in the table, however, as this would double-count
impacts given in the table for other natural heritage aspects. In summary:
• 95% range – the trip is motivated by the opportunity to undertake a mainly
single activity, primarily based on the natural heritage, for a dominant portion
of the time spent in Scotland
• 40% range – the trip is motivated by a range of factors, including natural
heritage and mainly involves less than half of the trip engaging with nature
based activities
• 20% range – the trip is motivated by a range of factors and engagement, and
the natural heritage component may be merely scenic or opportunities such
as a short walk on the beach
Expenditure figures by category of nature-based activity are drawn either from reports
or are apportioned through our judgement as percentages of total holiday tourist
spending. Figures are updated to 2008 prices, as appropriate, through the Consumer
Price Index (CPI), as follows:
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