Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Business boost for tourist accommodation providers in the Highlands

Post Thumbnail

The continuing lure of the North Coast 500 (NC500) road trip route and an influx of visitors from China has boosted business for tourist accommodation providers in the Highlands, according to a number of operators.

Jurys Inn Inverness cited the popularity of the NC500, which starts and finishes in the Highland capital, as one of the main factors behind what it described as a “huge spike in guest numbers,” including a 36% increases in travellers from overseas since 2016.

Established four years ago, the route around the north Highland coastline has become one of the most famous road trips in the world, alongside the renowned Route 66 in the US and Australia’s Great Ocean Road.

Niall O’Shaughnessy, general manager of the 118-room Jurys Inn Inverness, said: “It’s fantastic that we have visitors coming from all continents to experience the best of the Scottish Highlands.

“In the past two years especially, our visitor numbers from the likes of the US and Canada, Australia and Asia have increased significantly.

“We can’t say this is entirely due to the North Coast 500 but it has definitely had a positive effect.”

Elsewhere in the city, luxury holiday apartment business Ardconnel Court, said it had seen a 75% increase in Chinese group bookings, compared with last summer, following the introduction of direct flights between Beijing and Edinburgh in June.

Willie Cameron, of Cobbs Group, which runs four hotels round Loch Ness, said they had also seen an “upsurge” in visitors from China.

Chris Taylor, regional leadership director at VisitScotland, said: “There’s no denying that the Highlands’ stunning scenery, rich history and fascinating stories – from the Loch Ness Monster to Harry Potter – have helped grow the region’s appeal among Chinese visitors.

“VisitScotland continues to work with airlines to improve connectivity and we’re delighted that businesses are already seeing the benefits of increased air routes to Scotland, including the first-ever direct air service between Edinburgh and China.

“China remains an important international market and we work closely with industry partners, local destination marketing and Chinese travel trade organisations to promote the diverse tourism experience in the Highlands and develop the region as a year-round destination.”