Destination Management in Wester Ross Baseline Reports Consultation Exercise Winter, 2019/20 Context Upwards of an estimated c.100,000450,000 tourists visit Wester Ross every year, sustaining local communities through their input to the local economy. However, in the current climate we know that there are concerns that a rise in tourism over the past few years coupled with difficulties in infrastructure investment may not be sustainable. We have to accept that mass tourism is not going away, but we don’t have to accept that tourism management in Wester Ross continues to be reactive; instead of proactive. Together we can change that. Instigated by the Wester Ross Biosphere, (a community managed UNESCO designation that exists to connect people and nature to inspire a positive future), a steering group was formed of Public Sector representatives, ourselves and Visit Wester Ross with the intention of developing a community-led Destination Management Plan (DMP). We believe that by working together, across public sector, community and industry we can make small changes so that a culture of managing and planning for tourism development can be fostered. Wester Ross can be a great place to visit and a great place to live. DMPs are as dull as they are exciting. They consider all aspects of the Visitor Experience, from ensuring everyone has access to basic facilities and infrastructure to planning what exciting activities to get up to on holiday. The process is being led by Wester Ross Biosphere with staff resources from an EU Northern Periphery and Arctic Program project called SHAPE (Sustainable Heritage Area, Partnerships for ecotourism). Laura Hamlet (Achiltibuie), Natasha Hutchison (Lochbroom), Douglas Gibson (Gairloch) and Wanda Girard-Prudon (Kinlochewe) are the four Wester Ross residents who have been doing the work over the past 12 months of setting up a DMP steering group made up of public sector (for their statutory control over the public realm etc) and the Industry and Community perspectives. They have gathered evidence so that we can have an informed conversation about what the priorities should be over the next few years for tourism development. Much of this has been done on a voluntary basis with some extra financial support from Scottish Natural Heritage, The Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to cover some of our costs. We can’t do this in isolation, we need your help to make sure we have not missed critical information or allowed any major mistakes to creep in. Therefore, we invite you to comment on the baseline report summaries below and attend a Priority Setting Workshop facilitated by Scottish Rural Network on the 14th of January 2020 at Torridon Community Hall where we will have an informed discussion and begin to set some achievable priorities for the future of tourism in Wester Ross. The Reports Destination Management Plans should be based on a sound knowledge and assessment of all the features that relate to the visitor economy. Therefore, reports have been compiled on the following subject areas: • Access and Transport • Built Environment • Natural and Cultural Heritage • Tourism Facilities • Visitor Services These will help us to understand what the ‘status quo’ is in Wester Ross. What we have, how many, is it in good repair etc. This will form a baseline that we can use to talk about any issues and monitor our progress against in the future. It will also help us to identify our collective strengths – for example, we know that the council struggles financially but with some collaboration among our third sector, can we find ways to find the necessary investment in areas we identify as priorities? Are some of our challenges solvable if we talk to each other and find out what we’re all good at? The reports will directly contribute to the two main outcomes identified by the DMP Steering Group: #1: Wester Ross is being managed as a Sustainable Tourism Destination by a stakeholder partnership #2: There is a culture in Wester Ross of welcoming visitors and a positive vibe about future tourism Five priority areas have been identified that we hope these reports will help contribute to; 1) Creating an identity and sense of place in Wester Ross 2) Community Ownership/Buy-in/Empowerment 3) A better-defined destination 4) Get a ‘better idea’ of carrying capacity 5) Business Engagement Please have a look at the following data summaries and add any comments in the box at the end of each page. We have included our initial thoughts around challenges and opportunities as we identified them through our research. Feel free to add your own opportunities as you think of them too. By working together, we will have a better chance of identifying solutions. If you would like to read the full reports then we have made these available on our website www.wrb.scot/SHAPE. Access & Transport Access and transport to and within Wester Ross is a fundamental part of the visitor experience and so auditing and understanding the current situation and development plans is essential to planning the development of the region. Wester Ross is primarily accessed by road and rail and, to a lesser degree by boat, with Inverness serving as the closest major travel hub. The nearest airport is in Inverness, 30 miles east of Garve. Much of the Wester Ross is inaccessible by motorised vehicle, with most roads following coastal and valley areas. The main trunk road routes are the majority of the A835 in the north and the A87 in the south linking to the Isle of Skye, both managed by BEAR Scotland. Other main routes - A832, A835 (partial), A890 and A896) are adopted roads (including single track) maintained by The Highland Council. Self-drive is the most popular method of travel to and within Wester Ross. Over 1/3 of the North Cost 500 route passes through Wester Ross. Traffic volumes from traffic count sites in Wester Ross indicate a 10% rise over the past few years. A recent study1 has shown that 59% of visitors travel by car while 23% travel by motorhome / campervan, and while just over 60% felt the roads were acceptable to brilliant in condition, 35% felt the road conditions ranged from decent to terrible. The local authority relies on public reports on potholes/ hazards outwith their quarterly checks on adopted roads. Hazards can be reported here. In 2018, 69% of works raised were completed, with many others repaired as they were identified on site (and thus not recorded). Repairs are prioritised based on level of hazard. The rail network connection from Inverness into Wester Ross is at Garve; there are four trains per day (Monday-Saturday) and two trains on Sundays. Stations are located at: Garve, Lochluichart, Achanalt, Achnasheen, Achnashellach, Strathcarron, Attadale, Stromeferry, Duncraig, Plockton, Duirinish and Kyle of Lochalsh. Year-round bus services operate from Inverness to Ullapool (connecting with the ferry timetable) increasing during the summer months. Citylink also provide a service to Kyle of Lochalsh. The Westerbus operates from Inverness to Gairloch connecting with an Ullapool service at Braemore Junction on a Monday, Wednesday & Saturday. There are also smaller minibus services, but their advertisement is limited. Private guided day trips via coach or minibus from Inverness are available during summer to visit places of interest such as Inverewe Gardens, Applecross, Torridon and Eilean Donan Castle. There are local and long-distance taxi services available. Most of the larger settlements offer at least one provider. 1 SHAPE T2.4 Marketing Report: Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research, West Highland College, UHI 2019 A year-round ferry service seven days per week operates between Ullapool and Stornoway. There is a seasonal service between Glenelg and Skye. There are 76 Jetties, 50 Slipways & 46 Piers across the region for small crafts to access the sea (see map). There are over 195 miles of core paths ranging from routes worn into natural ground to high specification constructed paths. The Highland Council is not required to carry out new path construction, upgrading works or maintenance of routes but it does have powers to carry out works. Challenges • The lack of a comprehensive public transport network. Reliance on private vehicles. • The UHI survey previously cited reports that only 9% of visitors used public transport with the most popular options by: bus (37%), ferry (37%) and train (26%). • Growing pressures on public realm infrastructure at a time when local authority spending is being reduced. • Road closures necessitate long diversions • Carparks are overflowing during peak season. The Visit Wester Ross Tourism Strategy (2018) identified the following additional access/transport related challenges: • Issues relating to driving etiquette, particularly on single track roads. • The North Coast 500 has brought a growing number of motorhomes into the area, which has generated a number of management issues relating to wild camping, wastewater disposal and littering. • North Coast 500 has changed the destination profile of Wester Ross, making it more of a through destination rather than an end destination. Opportunities • Potential to attract more day and short break visits into the area, especially from Inverness. • NC500 could promote ways in which to explore the route via public transport, as well as a combined ticketing scheme between bus and train. • Our extensive paths network provides great opportunity to capitalise on the mountain bike and e- bike growth market. • It is now an ideal time to develop new and innovative marine initiatives, or adapt existing ones to promote via the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020. • Accessibility of Gairloch will improve in the future following twin tracking of A832. • Community groups/NGOs could partner with the Highland Council to upgrade core-path infrastructure.