“WHAT’S it got to do with you? Good question. I have no skin in the game whether there is a National Park in Galloway. I do, however, worry that people are coming to conclusions based on incomplete information.
I had the good fortune to speak with lots of tourism businesses recently about our experience in the Cairngorms National Park, which has been my home for the last 12 years. There has been a steady increase in tourists to the Cairngorms National Park over the past 20 years, rising from about 1.4 million to 2.1 million. That is roughly in line with increases nationally.
But what is interesting is the reason that people are coming to the area has changed. In 2015 only around 36 per cent of visitors said that National Park status was important or very important. Ten years later our current survey shows that is at 70 per cent and amongst visitors from Europe – who tend to stay longer and spend more – it is 82 per cent.
Behind those figures, in the Cairngorms National Park, our policy is to stabilise visitor numbers in the peak season, focussing on the quieter months and on those areas that have infrastructure and capacity to accommodate additional visitors. We’ve been doing this work alongside businesses through the Cairngorms Business Partnership (CBP) and it’s starting to have an effect. Comparing 2019 and 2023 we have seen a 28 per cent increase in visitors between January and March and a ten per cent increase between October and December alongside a flatline in the summer months. A success for reducing seasonality and increasing economic activity.
The CBP also runs a business barometer with local businesses and in 2024 half of businesses stated that the National Park status was highly rated in attracting first time visitors. In 2023 a total of £419 million was generated directly and indirectly within the Cairngorms economy through visitor and tourism expenditure. That means employment and vibrancy.
The Galloway debate has thrown up arguments that visitors to national parks have a negative impact on residents and other businesses. Managing visitors is a key role for the park authority, and we help deliver that by holding fortnightly meetings with partners, including land managers, throughout the peak season. There were over 50 rangers in the Cairngorms National Park in 2024, including four trainee rangers working for the park authority. Just shy of 1400 patrols were carried out by park rangers alone.
There have been dozens of infrastructure projects to improve facilities for visitors and residents alike in 2024, from paths and signage to car parks and toilets. This financial year about £1.3 million will be invested by the park authority in visitor infrastructure, ranger services and access.
Finally, in 2024 we consulted on a new bylaw for the Cairngorms National Park to stop campfires and bbqs from April to October. There was huge support from residents, land managers and visitors for this local initiative alongside our wider work on fire management planning.
The great thing about National Parks is that all of the above is not driven nationally. It is driven by local decision-making about local priorities within national policy parameters. There is national funding to help manage these special areas that helps attract other funding from the private, charitable and public sectors. Is everything spot on? Of course not – there is always room for improvement – but looking at the reality and the facts might help you in deciding whether you fancy Galloway being given this status.
I have tried to set out in a bit of detail one area of work in the Cairngorms National Park. I could go on. You have to decide what works for you in Galloway, but behind a lot of noise remains one of the most powerful inventions for harnessing good on this small planet – National Parks.”
