A tourism body which has boosted Moray’s visitor income by more than £10million has launched plans to stand on its own two feet and save the public purse thousands of pounds.
The Moray Speyside Tourism organisation was established in 2014 to capitalise on the region’s assets and attract more tourists to its spectacular scenery and historic attractions.
The group was initially buoyed by a three-year funding package totalling £220,000 – representing a £60,000 investment from Moray Council and £160,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
However, after completing studies which revealed the staggering growth of visitor trade since its inception, the body has now revealed that it plans to be self-sufficient by 2020.
Yesterday, Moray Council agreed to downscale funding to £15,000 for each of the next three years before withdrawing support in 2020.
Moray Speyside Tourism’s operations manager, Laurie Piper, revealed the organisation was eager to devise a new model that could sustain it for the forseeable future.
Mr Piper said: “In early 2014, the value of tourism to the Moray economy was around £94m.
“Now, not quite three years later, the most recent figures available to us put that figure at just shy of £1.6million – an increase of around £11m.
“That’s quite an impressive figure, and one which I believe Moray Speyside Tourism has been fundamental in achieving.”
Mr Piper added the group’s main focus was now on achieving its own financial stability and protecting the public purse.
He said: “We are acutely aware of the need to reduce, and ideally remove the public subsidy we receive.
“We will be engaging with tourism industry specialists in the coming months to identify the most sustainable model and will begin planning for the long-term.”
The local authority’s economic development and infrastructure services committee was presented with a report outlining the strides that Moray’s tourism trade has taken in recent years.
VisitScotland studies highlighted that most tourists listed the area’s landscape as their main reason for visiting, with sightseeing ranked as the most popular activity.
The region’s top tourist attraction was identified as The Whale and Dolphin Conservation group’s base at Spey Bay.
The local SNP group’s economic development spokesman, Graham Leadbitter, commended Moray Speyside Tourism for “getting everyone to pull in the same direction” when it came to promoting the area as a destination spot.
