From the roots to the shoots 2010 alan elliot - mtb tourism in the south of scotland

10 September 2010

From The Roots to the Shoots

From the Roots to the Shoots

Alan Elliot - MTB Tourism in the South of Scotland

MOUNTAIN BIKING & TOURISM IN THE SOUTH OF SCOTLAND

Alan Elliott

Sector Delivery Team Leader

10 Sept 2010

Tourism Context Scottish South of Scotland

Scottish Enterprise roleMountain Biking - current Situation

Scottish South of Scotland

Issues

Mountain Biking & Tourism in the South of Scotland

Scottish Tourism

Scottish tourism spend £4.1bn p.a. 200,000 employees 10% employment National Strategy seeks growth of 50% 2005-15 15m visitors p.a. take overnight trips to Scotland Opinion-former Mature industry

Scottish Tourism Length of stay

Overseas visitors 9 nights English visitors 5 nights Scottish visitors 3 nights

Spend/night Overseas visitors £62 English visitors £60 Scottish visitors £53

Competition Emerging markets/destinations

South of Scotland Tourism

10,500 jobs Dispersed and fragmented One major “visitor attraction” – Blacksmiths Shop, Gretna Ideally placed for North England/Northern Ireland Car-borne visitors dominant

Scottish Enterprise approach

Economic outputs Priorities

Industry leadership Innovation Destination Development

Edinburgh Royal Deeside & CairngormsGlasgow Loch Lomond & TrossachsSt Andrews Highland Perthshire

Product DevelopmentGolf SailingMountain Biking HeritageFood Cruise

Mountain Biking in Scotland

£119m expenditure c 3,000 jobs 70% of built trail centre visits in South 16% Highlands Potential to increase spend by 35% over next 5 years Depends on investment level Vast range of people/organisations involved

Private sector • Accommodation; activity providers; restaurants; bike

shops; car hire Forestry Commission Scotland Local authorities Range of agencies – sporting, economic, countryside remits

Scottish Mountain Bike Development Consortium

Composition Scottish Cycling Forestry Commission Scotland Scottish Natural Heritage NHS Scotland CTC VisitScotland EventScotland Cycling Scotland Scottish Enterprise Highlands & Islands Enterprise IMBA

Scottish Mountain Bike Development Consortium

Tourism and Economic development To increase mountain biking visitor numbers by a

further 50% over the next 5 years Increased participation

To increase domestic participation in mountain biking by 25% over the same period

Creating Champions To assist Scots to win at least 5 medals in World or

Commonwealth competitions

South of Scotland Priorities

7stanes Commercial approach Company established with business groupings represented Income generation

Glentress Innerleithen Bike Park proposal Galloway Forest Park

Issues

Everyone’s interest but no-one’s role Different stories for different audiences Severely limited public £s Opportunities in technology?

User has to pay

And finally….

Mountain biking “community” has a huge part to play Complex projects New approaches will be required in the future

Industry leadership Innovative funding approaches New markets Link with other activities

Scotland has a huge opportunity