The Historic Houses (HH) report, ‘Historic houses: the heart of Scotland’s rural tourism’ has found that legislative uncertainty, complex regulation and mounting fiscal pressures are threatening the future of rural tourism businesses in Scotland.
Historic Houses writes:
According to Historic Houses’ new report, ‘Historic houses: the heart of Scotland’s rural tourism’, an overwhelming 90% of rural tourism business operators said the most common challenge facing them was the ‘rising cost of doing business’. The second and third most common challenges for respondents were ‘regulatory burdens’ (59%) and ‘tax burdens’ (54%). Problems recruiting staff and problems in securing planning permission were also challenges cited by respondents.
82% of those surveyed said their businesses had been affected by the increases in employers’ National Insurance Contributions, announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget – and 86% of those said Budgetary changes has made them less likely to invest in their business. Recent policy changes in Scotland were of concern to some members. A majority of those surveyed that responded to our question on the short-term lets licensing scheme had a negative view of its rollout. Responses on the Visitor Levy were mixed, but some were apprehensive about its implementation and in particular what will be done with the funds raised
95% of those surveyed on whether the Scottish Government understands and appreciates rural tourism said ‘no’. For many, when asked for one thing that the Scottish Government could do, in policy terms, to support their sector, the main theme was to reduce the regulatory and legislative burdens on rural tourism businesses. This report aligns with Scotland Outlook 2030, the country’s bold vision for tourism produced through a partnership of the Scottish Government and key sector stakeholders. As we near the halfway point in this strategy, however, too many tourism businesses still lack the tools they need to reach their full potential.
Jonathan Hunt, Chair of Historic Houses Scotland said: ‘Rural tourism, with its nationally and internationally recognised historic landscapes and cultural heritage, remains a powerful but underutilised asset. The Scottish Government must simplify and remove the vast number of legislative hurdles that rural tourism operators have to navigate. Policy changes such as the short-term let regulations and the visitor levy are or look to be cumbersome to implement with no clear picture on whether it will help rural business owners. Without proper support, it is not just Scotland’s tourism potential that is under threat, but the vitality of rural communities that depend on tourism for jobs and economic resilience, and the world-famous heritage that our tourism industry supports.’
Ben Cowell OBE, Historic Houses Director General said: ‘In 2024, Historic Houses Scotland members welcomed over 1.9 million visitors, generating over £20 million in visitor expenditure and directly employed 1,150 FTE staff. Heritage sites are the backbone of Scotland’s tourism industry. We believe that rural tourism should be valued on its own terms, not as an afterthought. Our report provides a blueprint of how to do that.’
Read the full report into Scotland’s rural heritage tourism industry:
