negative impacts of tourism in loch lomond

National Park tourism heading for £500 million shortfall in visitor generated income

Former tourist chief warns of impact of Covid restrictions on businesses in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs

• 21:00, 24 FEB 2021
• Updated 11:32, 25 FEB 2021

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Tourism businesses in the National Park are hurtling towards at least half a billion pounds in lost visitor income, a former area tourist chief has warned.

James Fraser, chair of the Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, claimed this week that income generated from visitors in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, is heading to a massive drop of at least £500million in the coming months.

As the anniversary of the first Covid-19 lockdown approaches, Mr Fraser, who was chief executive and chair of the area tourist board for two decades, said there seemed to be no end in sight for the current shutdown of tourism, with travel restrictions of some sort likely to remain in place for some time.

He said thousands of tourism jobs linked to the National Park have already gone with “many more under threat”.

And he added that the lockdowns last year and so far this year have resulted in tourism revenues falling at a staggering rate in the park with more than £300 million in losses racked up already and a further £200 million in the pipeline, including valuable advance bookings from the important English and overseas markets.

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Scotland with more than four million visitors a year generating spend of £420 million and sustaining more than 6000 jobs directly and indirectly.

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He warned the current prolonged lockdown, along with recent Scottish Government ministerial advice not to book Easter or summer holidays, means many tourism businesses in the National Park and throughout Scotland continue to be in limbo “clinging on by their fingertips in survival mode” and unable to plan ahead with any certainty.

Mr Fraser said: “Tourism and hospitality businesses are looking into the abyss with fixed costs increasing due to the recent lengthy cold snap and severely depressed levels of income from forward booking deposits, which are normally buoyant at this time of year.

“They are becoming more desperate.

“While the various closure and sectoral grant schemes are helpful they fall well short of monthly fixed overheads with many businesses having now exhausted their reserves and borrowing more heavily on top of previous borrowings. More permanent tourism business closures have taken place and more are inevitable the longer the lockdown continues.

“When businesses eventually do reopen various trading restrictions are likely still to be in place limiting capacity and trading potential meaning they could be quite exposed in cashflow terms without more support.”

Mr Fraser believes there has been a massive dip in forward bookings from the important overseas and English markets and there is going to be greater reliance on the Scottish market this year.

Even with an uplift of a third in 2019 compared to 2018, at 7.7 million trips and a value of £1.4 billion this represented less than 25 per cent of the overall value of tourism to Scotland in 2019.

Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs was established in 1978 and is the only independent conservation and heritage charity working solely to protect, promote and provide projects and services for the area covered by the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

The Friends has a strong membership base and is supported by individuals and businesses who are passionate about caring for and celebrating the special qualities of the area. The Friends work in partnership with others to help ensure current and future generations can enjoy the special scenic and heritage qualities of Scotland’s first National Park.

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Fresh blow for £40m Flamingo Land resort after locals take back support

A reformed community council in Loch Lomond said it no longer supports the huge project.

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More on this story, loch lomond £40m resort would provide 'over 200 jobs', developers say, flamingo land holiday resort plans 'the most objected to in history'.

• West Dunbartonshire

Plans to build a massive holiday resort on the banks of Loch Lomond have been dealt another blow after a reformed community group said it no longer backs the project.

The controversial £40m proposals by Yorkshire-based Flamingo Land to build a tourist and visitor complex – including a hotel, self-catering lodges and a water park – in Balloch have already been met with more than 80,000 objections.

According to campaigners, the development has become the most unpopular planning application in Scottish history.

Various versions of the plans have been considered over eight years with the current blueprints for the site including a hotel, a monorail, more than 100 lodges and a watersports hub.

While many residents and community figures say it would help boost the economy of Balloch and the wider West Dunbartonshire area, others have raised concerns about the impact on the natural landscape.

Despite the backlash, the Lomond Banks project was supported by the Balloch and Haldane Community Council in 2022.

A reformed version of the local group has written to the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority to oppose the plans.

It has raised concerns about the resort’s impact on public services in the area, the environment and the A82.

A spokesperson for the Balloch and Haldane Community Council said: “We do not believe the benefits and costs of Lomond Banks will be evenly distributed.

“Flamingo Land owners will surely benefit from one of their sites being featured in one of the world’s most iconic visitor locations, but residents will most certainly suffer in terms of overcrowding, pollution and additional pressure on already strained infrastructure and public services.”

Scottish Greens MSP Ross Greer said: “Our record-setting 80,000 objections show how strongly people across Scotland feel about this destructive and totally unacceptable proposal.

“Local opposition in particular is massive. Balloch residents could not be clearer in their rejection of Flamingo Land’s plans. I am delighted that the new Balloch and Haldane Community Council are now able to express the real anger felt by residents after a decade of this threat hanging over their community. Their objection really should be the final nail in the coffin for the application. 

“What Flamingo Land is proposing is far too big, far too destructive and totally out of step with what the community needs. We must protect one of Scotland’s most iconic landscapes and local businesses from these plans.”

Jim Paterson, development director for Lomond Banks, said: “Our team has been involved in extensive consultations for more than a year with the public, local stakeholders and business alike, and we have been encouraged throughout the process by the level of support that sits within the community for our revised plans and all the benefits that these would bring.

“We are disappointed by the change of position by Balloch and Haldane Community Council, but will look to engage with them as they further consider their position and thoughts on the plans, and we remain confident our proposals are in keeping with NPF4 guidelines in terms of flooding and biodiversity.

“It’s our firm belief that Lomond Banks will bring considerable economic and social benefit to the region.

“We have pledged to not only be a good neighbour, a responsible employer and green operator, but Lomond Banks will ensure that, if given the opportunity, this world-class tourism development, in an area of Loch Lomond that has been identified in the local development plans by both West Dunbartonshire Council and the National Park Authority for such a purpose, will be a source of pride amongst the local community for generations to come.”

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Vegetation and land use in the Loch Lomond catchment

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• Gordon Dickinson 1  

Part of the book series: Developments in Hydrobiology ((DIHY,volume 101))

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The Loch Lomond catchment lies across the boundary between the Lowlands and Highlands of Scotland, and its vegetation and land-use are influenced by the environmental contrasts which occur on either side of the Highland Boundary Fault. In the northern part of the catchment area elevations exceed 800 metres, and thus there is an altitudinal zonation component to vegetation and land-use patterns.

The role of man has been profound in modifying natural vegetation, and recent land-utilisation is reviewed. Changing human and environmental circumstances have a significant effect on vegetation and land-use, and these factors are evaluated. Though natural and semi-natural vegetation occupies only a small fraction of the catchment, its conservation importance is considerable. In terms of scenic and heritage resources, the whole area has international significance and the Loch Lomond catchment requires special protection and management.

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Adams, C. E & R. Tippett, 1990. Status of the fish community of Loch Lomond, Report to the Scottish Development Agency, Glasgow.

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Cameron, J., 1986. Woodland History and Management, in Placido, C. (ed.), Loch Lomond N N R Reserve Record Part 1 (Preliminary), Nature Conservancy Council, Balloch Castle Country Park, Balloch, Dunbartonshire.

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Mather, A. S., 1988. Agriculture and Forestry, in Selman, P. (ed.), Countryside Planning in Practice: the Scottish experience S.U.P., Stirling.

Mowle, A., 1989. Conservation Problems and the Need for an Integrated Rural Land Use Policy, in Dickinson, G. (ed.), The Scottish Countryside in Conflict. The Private Use of a Public Resource, C.U.R.R. Discussion Paper No. 40, University of Glasgow.

Paton, D., 1954. The Botany of The Area, in Walton, J. (ed.), The Queen Elizabeth Forest Park Guide, H.M.S.O., Edinburgh.

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Selman, P., 1988. Landscape and Wildlife, in Selman, P. (ed.), Countryside Planning in Practice: the Scottish experience, S.U.P., Stirling.

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Dickinson, G. (1994). Vegetation and land use in the Loch Lomond catchment. In: Murphy, K.J., Beveridge, M.C.M., Tippett, R. (eds) The Ecology of Loch Lomond. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 101. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0758-7_7

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Loch Lomond, The Trossachs & Forth Valley industry update

Activity to support tourism in loch lomond, the trossachs & forth valley (lltfv) from october - december 2022.

Included in this update:

• Intro from Neil Christison our Regional Director
• Join the Forth Valley private Facebook group
• Marketing Loch Lomond, The Trossachs & Forth Valley
• Loch Lomond, The Trossachs & Forth Valley on our consumer social channels 
• Loch Lomond, The Trossachs & Forth Valley PR coverage
• An update from our iCentres
• Scottish Thistle Awards | good luck!
• Year of Stories round-up

Neil Christison, Regional Director

Our industry continues to adjust to tough new financial circumstances and it's clear that these will continue to impact in the year ahead. But there is much to build on and we remain committed to doing what we can to support the industry, whether that’s bringing people to Scotland, offering support and guidance to businesses, or creating opportunities for growth and investment.

Our marketing, funding and business support activities are all aimed at building on these shoots of recovery to support the responsible growth of our industry.

It's been a busy period in Loch Lomond, Trossachs, Stirling and Forth Valley, from the launch of our film guide to the region’s first tourism industry networking event since 2019 and much more.

Find out more about how our work is helping to support the ambitions of the national tourism strategy, Scotland Outlook 2030, for Scotland to be a world leader in 21st century tourism.

Forth Valley Facebook group

You can join using your personal profile or with your business page.

It's a useful platform to keep up-to-date with what's happening locally and we'll share our latest news and insights.

Regional marketing

Set in scotland guide.

In November, we launched our updated Set in Scotland guide. The 52-page guide includes more than 150 films and features 17 films shot in Loch Lomond, The Trossachs & Forth Valley.  Download the Set in Scotland Guide.

Great Days Out in Scotland

This campaign highlights "kids for a quid" tickets with Scotrail and entry to participating attractions in LLTFV. Running until the end of March,  check out the toolkit on how you can submit an offer.

New and updated blogs featuring LLTFV

Some new and updated content added to VisitScotland.com featuring LLTFV

• Things to do in Scotland at night featuring Stirling Ghostwalk
• 8 cool neighbourhoods in Scotland’s cities to call home featuring Stirling and a range of places to stay and eat
• 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships: everything you need to know  featuring days out in Stirling with suggestions for things to see and do
• 14 places in Scotland you must visit in 2023 featuring Clackmannanshire, Alloa Tower, Castle Campbell and Dam Good Coffee 
• Great days out award – 5 best days out In Scotland featuring The Helix: Home of the Kelpies 
• 27 hidden gems of secret Scotland: how many do you know? featuring Union Canal and Loch Katrine
• 13 motorhome spots with stunning views featuring Blair Drummond Safari Park

Working in Partnership

Funded by VisitFalkirk in partnership with Falkirk Community Trust and Scottish Canals we ran an  autumn social media campaign  targeting adventure seekers, engaged sightseers and natural advocates in Scotland and north England. Adverts directed people to visitfalkirk.com resulting in over 13,000 web visits and 242,000 views of a Falkirk video featuring things to do and places to stay in the area.

LLTFV on our social channels (October - December)

3.53 million

Number of times LLTFV content reached people on their social channels

182,000 engagements

Reactions, likes, comments, shares and saves on LLTFV posts

Reach of 575,000

Top performing post by reach was a striking shot of The Kelpies on Facebook

Getting your content shared

Check out our handy guide on content that works for us and how to get involved..

We're always on the lookout for fantastic content to share with our audience. Help us inspire people to visit Scotland.

LLTFV corporate PR coverage

Our Corporate PR team work closely with Scottish and UK media to raise awareness of our work to promote LLTFV to visitors and support for industry. 

Some of the highlights include:

The launch of our Great Days Out in Scotland campaign featuring Blackness Castle, Divergent Games Escape Rooms, Doune Castle and Stirling Castle

Our new film guide  Set in Scotland featuring films shot in LLTFV. These include Mary Queen of Scots (2019), The Eagle (2011) and the  Holy Grail (1975) to name a few

The results of the Scottish Agritourism Growth Tracker, an important sector in LLTFV, highlighting the value and future opportunities for farms and rural communities

We celebrated four regional winners at the Scottish Thistle Regional Awards

A press release supporting the Forth Valley industry networking event

To view all the press releases, visit our media centre.

Consumer PR team highlights:

• Arnprior Farm in Stirling featured among a list of "things to do on Halloween" in the Sunday Post.
• Stirling Castle and the surrounding area featured within an "autumn walk" round up within The Sunday Herald.
• Coverage in the Traveller featured the Falkirk Wheel, The Kelpies and Stirling Castle with more coverage still to come.
• Traveller is a leading travel supplement included in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age weekend newspapers. These are weekly newspapers in New South Wales (Sydney) and Victoria (Melbourne) and online at Traveller.com.au. Readership figures combined for print and digital reach 1.6 million readers.

Der Whisky-Botschafter (whisky magazine) published a feature including Deanston Distillery, the Kelpies and Stirling Castle. 

Stirling Castle featured in a round-up of castles across Scotland in US publication - Travel + Leisure. Take a look on the Travel + Leisure website.

Stirling Castle was featured as one of the "fun destinations in Scotland" by sohu.com (reach: 127,680,000) and one of the "cultural destination" on ttc.org.cn (reach: 1,100)       

Stirling Christmas market featured across these four Chinese publications / websites:

• toutiao.com (reach: 2.4 million)
• sz,dushiquan.net (reach: 1.2 million)
• zentravel.cn (reach: 1.5 million)
• micecn.com (reach: 3.5 million)

Regional iCentre updates

Aberfoyle iCentre

We hosted a late night shopping and networking event in December. Some of our retail suppliers and local attractions - Doune Castle and The Steamship Sir Walter Scott at Loch Katrine joined us. Carol singers from the Christmas tree light switch on also joined us, creating a wonderful festive atmosphere.

Feedback from locals and exhibitors was positive. We're already looking ahead to plan village events this year!

Stirling iCentre

In December we took part in the Go Forth Christmas Window Competition with 26 businesses around the city taking part. We showcased some of the amazing products that are available in the iCentre as part of our display. And, it was also fun dressing our window up to incorporate a winter theme for people to come and enjoy. Locals voted for their favourite window, and we made it through to the second round.  Well done to Keepsake Scotland who had the most votes for the best window!

LLTFV Thistle Award winners

Good luck to all the Thistle Award finalists from the region who will go on to compete at the Scottish Thistle Awards National Final on 9 February 2023 at   Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

You can browse the 2022/2023 National Finalists on the Scottish Thistle Awards website.

Year of Stories highlights for 2022

Community stories fund campaign.

Tanuki Tales event in Clackmannanshire was one of the many events supported by the Year of Stories Community Stories Fund.

The events were promoted across various newspaper titles in October as well as display ads, social media posts and online articles.

Great Days Out campaign

We partnered with News UK and Reach PLC to showcase a range of attractions through a series of online articles. The attractions featured were all part of our current Great Days Out campaign.

A series of articles went live across a range of national and regional newspapers. Doune Castle, Stirling Old Town Jail and The Japanese Gardens all featured in The Sun. Doune Castle also featured in an online article in the  Daily Record.

The List campaign

A media partnership with The List ran from March to November 2022 to promote the Year of Stories events programme. It included articles, e-newsletters, display ads and social posts. Events highlighted in October and November included Tales from the Castle which took place in Stirling. 

Year of Stories case studies

The new Stirling XP app collaboration between Stirling Council, BT and Seymour Powell featured within our Year of Stories case study on new initiatives and campaigns created by tour operators and attractions across Scotland.  Take a look.

Related links

Short-term lets legislation changes in scotland, domestic sentiment tracker , reaching our respective goals.

Public bodies on ‘go slow’ on boosting beaver numbers, campaigners argue

N early three-quarters of Scots want public bodies to step up action to boost the country’s population of beavers, research suggests.

Polling by Survation on behalf of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance found 73% of respondents said public bodies should identify more sites on their land where beavers can live.

The alliance believes Government agencies are not delivering on ministers’ call to encourage efforts to move beavers into new areas.

The group says Scotland’s nature agency, NatureScot, which issues lethal control licences, has “so far failed” to lead on beaver relocations to its national natural reserves.

The alliance also says Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), the country’s largest manager of public land, has yet to welcome a single beaver to a site beyond the species’ current range.

It says this perceived lack of delivery has resulted in more than two years of inaction and indecision as well as missed economic opportunities for local communities.

Beavers were driven to extinction in Scotland some 400 years ago, before their official reintroduction in 2016 and recognition as a protected species in 2019.

The animals create wetlands that benefit other wildlife, soak up carbon dioxide, purify water and reduce flooding.

They can also bring economic benefits to communities through eco-tourism, supporters argue.

Kevin Cumming, the Scottish Rewilding Alliance’s deputy convener, said of the Survation research: “This is overwhelming public support for bringing back beavers to suitable habitat.

“Government bodies that manage land on behalf of the public need to listen and move ahead on reintroducing these key allies in tackling the nature and climate emergencies.

“Cairngorms National Park Authority is showing what can be done, with beavers released at several sites and plans for more over the next five years.

“Our other public agencies need to play catch-up with the Cairngorms and end their own go-slow approach to restoring this biodiversity-boosting, flood-reducing, habitat-creating species.”

The alliance says relocations should be prioritised when landowners have problems, with lethal control licences only issued as a genuine last resort.

It also advocates paying farmers for having beavers on their land.

Farmer Tom Bowser, from Argaty near Doune in Perthshire , has reintroduced several beavers to his family farm under licence, saving them from culling.

He said: “The beavers have only brought us benefits. Their dams in what was once a flood-prone part of our farm have saved us real money in annual track repairs, because we just don’t see floods there anymore.”

The alliance estimates NatureScot has identified more than 100,000 hectares of woodland where beavers could establish territories, while Scotland’s Government bodies manage 10% of public land between them.

It argues bolder action on beaver reintroduction is especially needed from FLS, which manages around 640,000 hectares of Scotland, including many waterways known to be highly suitable for beavers.

A NatureScot spokesperson said: “NatureScot is very supportive of Scotland’s Beaver Strategy, and we share the public’s desire to see beavers expand into appropriate areas.

“We already host beavers on our land at Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve (NNR) and some beavers are known to be present around our Flanders Moss and Tentsmuir NNRs. We expect more beavers to arrive naturally at Tentsmuir and potentially at Loch Leven NNR.

“However, a significant proportion of the land we own or manage is either not suitable habitat for beavers (being coastal, peatland or mountain) or would only support a small, isolated population. In addition, many sites are not owned by NatureScot but are managed under Nature Reserve Agreements and would be subject to landowner permission.

“In our view efforts should be focused on larger, strategic catchment-based applications with multiple release sites rather than seeking to establish isolated populations that will require ongoing population and genetic management.

“Consequently, we have been concentrating on helping others to develop proposals for more favourable locations while continuing to consider where NNRs could contribute to such strategic applications.

“A huge amount of work has been happening on the ground since September 2022 and our 2023 report of beaver management, which is due to be published later this summer, will report a continued trend of fewer beavers being lethally controlled.

“This is due to NatureScot staff working hard with land managers, the Beaver Trust and Five Sisters Zoo to trap and translocate beavers from conflict areas wherever possible.

“The last survey of the Tayside beaver population in 2020/21 highlighted that the beaver population in Scotland is continuing to expand rapidly, with at least 251 active beaver territories and an estimated 954 individuals.

“There have since been three breeding seasons and populations have also been restored to more areas, including Loch Lomond and the Cairngorms, playing an important role in helping to improve biodiversity and respond to the climate emergency in Scotland.

We will continue to work with local communities to ensure that beavers are reintroduced into areas that maximise biodiversity and wider environmental gains and avoid potential negative impacts

“The Scottish beaver population is now likely to be in excess of 2000 beavers and we expect to carry out further survey work next winter.”

A spokesperson for FLS said: “We are involved in beaver translocations across Scotland and all our releases – other than the original Knapdale trial – are ‘within range’ as defined by NatureScot.

“However, where translocations are proposed ‘outwith’ range, considerable degrees of consultation and preparation are required and we have just concluded an consultation exercise on a proposal to translocate beavers to Glen Affric.

“For good reason, there have now been two rounds of consultation for Glen Affric. The second consultation, partly required because of a change to the scope/scale of the original proposal, was overseen by an external party and has highlighted that several practical, management and monitoring processes need to be defined and agreed on before we could progress to a licence.

“We have taken advice from NatureScot and, based on their feedback, believe these matters must be addressed before we can make a decision on making for a licence application.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We will continue to support the identification and expansion of beaver populations.

“We also recognise that appropriate management and mitigation is important to those affected.

“We will continue to work with local communities to ensure that beavers are reintroduced into areas that maximise biodiversity and wider environmental gains and avoid potential negative impacts.”

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Climate Emergency in The National Park

The Climate Emergency is having a real impact on the National Park and the people who live, work and visit here.

The Climate Emergency is having a real impact on the National Park and the people who live, work and visit here. More frequent flooding and landslips are damaging people’s homes, communities, businesses and lifeline transport links. It also threatens nature, with some habitats and species struggling to adapt to the warmer, wetter climate. Failing to reduce emissions and limit global warming will result in more of these impacts, including severe droughts, heatwaves, storms and rainfall.

We need to reduce emissions as far as possible and balance this with carbon capture to reach a total of net zero emissions in the National Park. However, the superpower of the National Park is that it has the capacity to go even further than this and become a place that absorbs carbon. To do this we need to address things like how people travel to, from and around the National Park as this is a major source of carbon emissions. We need to change how land is used, encourage more sustainable tourism and support greener ways for people to live and work here. We also need to restore habitats such as woodlands, peatlands and waterbodies so that they are healthier and more resilient to change.

The goal is for the National Park to be Carbon Negative, becoming a natural, carbon sink. This would reduce the impacts of the Climate Emergency here in the National Park and help Scotland and the wider world reach its ambitious climate targets.

• Reduce peatland emissions
• Increase Tree Cover
• Restore the Water Environment
• Support more Regenerative Land Use
• Invest in Nature Restoration
• Inspire action for nature and climate
• Deliver a multi-year Place Programme
• Improve travel infrastructure
• Develop a new strategic transport partnership approach
• Make sustainable travel choices more attractive
• Increase Sustainable Tourism
• Support Low Carbon Businesses
• Grow Green and Nature-based Jobs and Skills
• Enable more local living and working
• Adapt to Climate Change and Restore Nature

Progress Update

Steps are already being taken to deliver against these goals.

The Oak Tree Inn, in Balmaha , is a great example of a local tourism business taking action to address the climate emergency, whilst continuing to develop their business.

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