Investment Essential for National Park Visitors
9 March 2010
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park lies on the
doorstep of over 3 million Scots making it some of the most heavily used and
accessible countryside in Scotland. In response to huge customer demands for
some of the most overpopulated sites, the National Park is seeking innovative
solutions to ensure Loch Lomond & The Trossachs is a Park for all where
visitors can enjoy what it has to offer.
One of the options discussed at the recent National Park
Board meeting was the charging for car parking on sites owned by the National
Park. Other solutions include heavy investment in some of the most densely used
sites, introducing camping byelaws where appropriate, supporting a drinking ban
along the east side of Loch Lomond, traffic control measures, better signage,
working with local businesses to offer visitors more things to see and do and
to encourage commercial investment and sensitive development where needed to
support visitors.
Park Chief Executive Fiona Logan explained: “We are
absolutely committed to delivering a fantastic visitor experience across the
whole National Park as one of our three main priorities. The Park is slightly a
victim of its own success in that thousands of people from across the globe
come here every year to enjoy this special part of Scotland. We have to find a
way to better manage our visitors and ensure they enjoy their experience here.
We have found that almost all National Parks in the UK charge for parking and
this is something that would generate income that could easily be invested back
into the experience. Any money raised through charging would be used to ensure
visitor centres remain staffed and open, toilet provision is maintained where
required, paths and walkways would be maintained and alternative modes of
transport such as shuttle buses and water taxis could be trialled and offered.”
The Park Authority is already considering two areas where
charging could come into effect. These include the Duncan Mills Memorial
Slipway in Balloch as part of an overall upgrade to the site and Milarrochy as
part of the wider East Loch Lomond Management Plan. Fiona stressed the
need for long term support and investment across Loch Lomond & The
Trossachs from the private sector that would benefit both communities and
visitors:
“Unfortunately the public sector purse is shrinking and
for the first time we are tasked with having to generate our own income in
order to respond to the needs of our visitors and deliver a high quality
experience. The public sector now needs to work alongside
commercial partners to provide a long term model that will bring real on the
ground benefits so we have better managed facilities and ultimately rely less
on public sector funds. Overall this area will benefit hugely from the range of
solutions we are working towards together with business leaders and local
communities.”
Mike Cantlay, Convener for the National Park Authority
added: “Having worked in tourism in this part of Scotland all my life, I am
well aware that the public sector has to start charging for things like car
parking and we have to follow the rest of the world. We need to surpass visitor
expectations and the way to do this is by generating income and ploughing this
revenue back into the visitor experience.”