Tourism assets owned by local folk backed

A new organisation that aims to bring community tourism to the fore in Scotland has been launched.

Scoto hopes to be a network for collaboration and learning as well as a voice for Scottish community tourism.

Chairman Russell Fraser said the organisation hoped to “inspire socially conscious travellers”.

He said: “We are here to highlight the places to visit and stay that are owned by the community.

“While community ownership is not new, it is starting to be recognised.

“In a lot of cases the community will own a community asset, maybe through a transfer from the local authority – such as the former Visit Scotland visitor centres – that are now community hubs.

“Scoto is about the experience we want visitors to have when they come here and see the area through the eyes of the community.

“This will give them a richer and greater experience of the area that they are coming to visit.”

Mr Fraser, who is part of the team behind the Loch Ness Hub which took a number of assets and businesses into community ownership, told the BBC that, after the pandemic, visitor numbers are increasing.

On social media, the group said: “Scoto wants tourists to make a conscious choice to seek out places in Scotland to visit which are offered by companies owned and managed by the local community where every pound spent is reinvested in local priorities.”

Marc Crothall, chief executive of Scottish Tourism Alliance, said: “Supporting and enabling more community-led tourism is a key aim set out in our national tourism strategy.”