Keep Scotland Unspoiled

Campaign launched to help people enjoy Scotland responsibly

With the Easter holidays heralding what is traditionally seen as the start of the Scottish tourism season, we’ve unveiled a new campaign to help both visitors and locals enjoy Scotland safely and responsibly.

Keep Scotland Unspoiled will use social media, local radio and digital marketing to educate, inspire and inform people about issues such as water safety, fire safety, dog control and the need to adhere to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

As part of our efforts this year to reach younger audiences, we’re working with some of Scotland’s top travel influencers who will be creating content for their channels themed around topics like camping, water safety, taking dogs out and motorhomes.

We’ll be using humour to convey our key messaging and ensure we’re setting a more positive tone around the need to behave responsibly when visiting outdoor places.

This new campaign comes as new research reveals almost a fifth of residents in Scotland believe a benefit of tourism is that it showcases the beauty of Scotland.

The same research also found over 80% of respondents thought that tourism improves the local economy and helps generate economic growth in the area.

How can you get involved?

We have many tools available to help you encourage responsible and safe tourism and be part of our visitor management activity.

There are films, images, content and more, which you can use – for free – across your social media and marketing. 

SPOILER ALERT! Here's the four new films...

Other digital resources and assets regarding responsible tourism, including the new Caravan & Camping forum best practice leaflet, are also available. Register and browse our "Responsible Tourism" collection on our Digital Media Library. 

Coordinated approach to visitor management

In recent years there has been a growing concern around an apparent increase in irresponsible behaviour at a number of locations including littering, environmental damage, fire hazards, wildlife disturbance and unsafe waste disposal.

As more people holidayed at home, many were unaware of the impact of their visits on surrounding landscapes, wildlife and communities.   

In order to address the issue, VisitScotland and a number of partners came together to develop a Scotland-wide strategic and coordinated approach to visitor management.

This included a series of dedicated campaigns to inspire and educate ‘novice’ outdoor adventurers and visitors in how to enjoy the outdoors responsibly.

It’s estimated that at least 83% of adults in Scotland saw this responsible tourism activity by either VisitScotland or our partners which offered reminders on how to enjoy the countryside and leave no trace of their visit.