Written Question · S5W-10599 · Session 5
What (a) financial support and (b) non-financial support such as endorsements and training it has given to the Scottish Country Sports Tour…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) financial support and (b) non-financial support such as endorsements and training it has given to the Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group, including through VisitScotland and Scottish Natural Heritage, in each of the last three years.
The answer
There is no Scottish Government funding given directly to the Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group. In December 2016 VisitScotland approved a grant of £17,925 to the Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group to promote Scotland as the destination of choice for all country sports, including angling. The Group will use this to develop content and supporting digital activity to attract visitors from across the UK and Scandinavia.
In conjunction with Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Natural Heritage provided £10k project funding for research into the economic impact of country sports tourism in Scotland. The Executive Summary "Benefits and Volume and Value of Country Sports Tourism in Scotland" by Public and Corporate Economic Consultants (PACEC) was published in March 2015.
In addition, as part of the Scottish Natural Heritage project "Scotland’s Natural Larder", Scottish Natural Heritage rented stand space on a joint British Association for Shooting and Conservation/Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group stand at a cost of £1,500 in order to attend a Game Fair in England in July 2014. At the fair, Scottish Natural Heritage distributed recipe cards and served tasters of venison, rabbit, goose and wild garlic from the stand.
Further non-financial support to both individual tourism enterprises and membership associations is provided in conjunction with a number of different public sector partners, and through a variety of industry events and channels (including free downloadable toolkits and webinars) and therefore all non-financial assistance cannot be enumerated. However, one member of Scottish Natural Heritage staff sits as a non-executive on the board of Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group for an average of four days per annum in order to strengthening engagement with stakeholders and provide strategic advice in relation to public interest priorities and opportunities for sustainable economic growth based on the use of natural resources.
In conjunction with Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Natural Heritage provided £10k project funding for research into the economic impact of country sports tourism in Scotland. The Executive Summary "Benefits and Volume and Value of Country Sports Tourism in Scotland" by Public and Corporate Economic Consultants (PACEC) was published in March 2015.
In addition, as part of the Scottish Natural Heritage project "Scotland’s Natural Larder", Scottish Natural Heritage rented stand space on a joint British Association for Shooting and Conservation/Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group stand at a cost of £1,500 in order to attend a Game Fair in England in July 2014. At the fair, Scottish Natural Heritage distributed recipe cards and served tasters of venison, rabbit, goose and wild garlic from the stand.
Further non-financial support to both individual tourism enterprises and membership associations is provided in conjunction with a number of different public sector partners, and through a variety of industry events and channels (including free downloadable toolkits and webinars) and therefore all non-financial assistance cannot be enumerated. However, one member of Scottish Natural Heritage staff sits as a non-executive on the board of Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group for an average of four days per annum in order to strengthening engagement with stakeholders and provide strategic advice in relation to public interest priorities and opportunities for sustainable economic growth based on the use of natural resources.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S5W-10599 by reference.