SCOTLAND's hotels and B&Bs are booked out, visitor attractions mobbed, ferries full to the brim and islands bursting at the seams. Scotland's tourism industry, already recognised as an essential economic driver, generating an annual visitor spend in excess of £4.5bn, is this year reporting record international visitor numbers.
It's great news not only for rural communities but the whole of the country and it's right that Scotland with its unique combination of heritage, folklore, breath-taking landscapes and culture-rich cities should be recognised for what it has to offer.
Yet it's a success story that also shines a light on Scotland's struggling tourist infrastructure. Overseas visitors come her believing that Scotland's most well-known spots from Skye to Loch Ness will welcome them with open arms, but some are forced to sleep in their cars due to a dearth of accommodation. They are unlikely to return.
We may appear to the world as a great destination but in reality we lack much of the tourist infrastructure that countries much poor than us boast. It's time to get our act together and strong leadership is needed.
Better marketing of the benefits of out-of-season travel in Scotland would help, as well as more support in promoting some of Scotland's beautiful but hidden gems in order to "spread the wealth" and the pressure on infrastructure. Investment is a must, making sure that public transport, toilets, cash points and wifi are available to tourists who are often taken aback by the lack of facilities, cafes that close at 5pm and pubs and restaurants calling last orders early in the evening.
Development must also be driven by local communities, and have their needs at its heart. Affordable housing allows young people to remain in their communities and contribute or create innovative new businesses, from restaurants making the most of local produce, to outdoor adventures or sustainable wildlife tours.
Scotland has much to celebrate right now. Let's make sure it makes the most of its moment in the sun.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here