Great shot
Perthshire’s grouse draws in foreign visitors
The Scottish country sports tourism industry is boosting foreign visitors and overnight stays in Perthshire and across Scotland.
The grouse shooting season ended on December 10 and estates and sporting agents across the country are reporting a favourable season in terms of the tourism benefit to rural Scotland.
Regional moorland groups highlighted a total of 4,007 overnight stays from those taking part in country pursuits throughout the 2016 shooting season.
Figures for the Tayside and Central Moorland Group were healthy, with several estates reporting 226 overnight stays in total attracting visitors from Holland and France.
The Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group (SCSTG) and the Gift of Grouse campaign highlighted the tourist contribution of Scotland’s country sports at a reception at the Scottish Parliament last month.
Robert Rattray, of CKD Galbraith’s Sporting Lets, said: “As usual the season has been mixed; some grouse moors in Central Scotland have had a superb season, while others further east had poor stock due to a cold snap in late spring.
“The demand from all over the world to partake when the “game is on” remains consistently strong.”
Sarah Troughton, chair of SCSTG said: “Our vision for Scotland’s fishing, shooting and stalking industry is that it will become the global country sport tourism destination of choice.
“The current value of country sports tourism in Scotland stands at £155m and our ambitious growth target to reach £185m by 2020 will be underpinned by greater industry collaboration, including VisitScotland, and engaging in an international awareness campaign to develop overseas markets.”
A “healthy”year was reported by the Tayside and Central Moorland Group