Scotland's Community Tourism Network

In 2022 a new network emerged bringing together everyone interested in seeking a more community led approach to tourism in Scotland. This is on the back of more and more communities exercising their rights to own and manage land and buildings and as a core part of this, opting to provide visitor services and facilities. 85 people across Scotland had taken part in a 12 week programme called Communities Leading in Tourism and everyone found the peer to peer learning was so valuable.

Community led tourism however is not a new thing. Many local heritage centres and museums have been run by local historic societies and trusts for decades.

What has enabled this to grow is Scotland's community empowerment legislation which has led to most communities opting to set up community development trusts and many taking on the operation of local toilets, visitor information hubs and social enterprises being set up to provide hostel and pod accommodation, motorhome aires and camp sites, shops, pubs, cafes and bike hire. Some of these have proven to be lucrative with profits ploughed back into the community and others are seeking innovative ways to generate revenue to support their venture.

SCOTO has been set up to support the growth and development of community led tourism and provides various resources including case studies on www.scoto.co.uk and also reaches out to visitors on www.belocal.scot with blog features on community led tourism enterprises, a map showing where these can be found and lots of tips on how to be a temporary local on your travels. We hold an annual conference event in early Spring each year and monthly online gatherings on different topics including tourism taxes, toilets, churches and income generation. Having established the network we are now turning our energy to shaping our strategy for community led tourism in Scotland - seeking to recalibrate tourism to deliver for our communities and the environment first.

Our network membership is open to any individual interested in the topic and we have paid categories for enterprises to access our resources and also, very importantly, supporters who want to see community led tourism flourish.

SCOTO Executive Director Carron Tobin commented "We are finding the more people we talk to, the more support there is for what we do.

"We are in a new era post-Covid and post-Brexit which has impacted on how tourism can operate. The public sector is facing significant budget constraints and as it closes toilets and visitor information centres, communities are stepping in to ensure they can offer visitors a warm welcome.

"Businesses are facing unprecedented operating costs and are struggling to recruit staff often due to a lack of affordable housing. It is critically important for business and community interests to come together and collectively agree what is and isn't working, and what could be done better or differently at a community level. "We also know many travellers are looking to slow down, meet local people and support the community they are staying in.

"We believe it is time for everyone in the tourism industry to 'Press Pause' and explore how tourism can be recalibrated to bring added value to our people and places."