Tourism blueprint served up for area

Crannog Centre plays host as plan is published

Those behind a new tourism plan for Perthshire hope it will help lead the region’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perth and Kinross Council, VisitScotland and other organisations have teamed up for the document, which has now been published.

They say the plan, which runs until 2025, sets out Per t h s h i re’s ambition of becoming a leading sustainable destination in Scotland.

Those involved got together last week to launch the plan - and enjoy some dumplings provided by Clootie McToot Dumplings - at the Scottish Crannog Centre in Kenmore.

The document focuses on medium- term objectives to provide direction which will maintain and build Perthshire’s position as a wellestablished and much loved destination as well as a key contributor to the Perth and Kinross economy.

The four objectives are:

• Restoring the value of tourism to pre- COVID- 19 levels, with a particular focus on extending the season for year-round visits

•Establishing Perthshire as a leading responsible tourism destination by encouraging responsible business practices, low impact activities and commu n i t y - supported developments

•Ensuring that the impact and benefits of tourism are felt across Perthshire’s communities with a bottom-up approach through the network of local tourism associations and sector groups

•Making sure that Perthshire is a ‘digitally discoverable’ destination, in other words that it is visible as a responsible place to visit online.

Activities which are already underway to support the plan include the recently launched ‘ Perthshire Talks Tourism’ series of webinars where local tourism associations and businesses talk about what is happening in their areas.

A successful application has also been made to the Destination and Sector Marketing Fund to deliver an autumn/ winter digital marketing campaign for Perthshire and Perth and Kinross Visitor Management Group.

It had been hoped to launch the plan, which has been developed by bodies within the work of the Perthshire Tourism Partnership, in the spring last year but this was delayed due to the pandemic.

David Smythe, chair of Perthshire Tourism Partnership, said: “With international travel difficult this past summer, we have seen just how popular rural Perthshire has been for Scots and visitors from the rest of the UK. The plan intends to build on this popularity and seize the opportunities ahead, collaborate with recovering communities and work towards our vision of making Perthshire a leading sustainable destination.”

The plan can be read at https:// www. investinperth. co.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2021/10/MASTER_Perthshire-Tourism-ActionPlan-2021-25.pdf