We want everyone to have a fantastic experience in Scotland. To achieve this, both locals and visitors alike, must respect and protect our surroundings. Whether that be within our communities or in the great outdoors.
Working with businesses, destinations, and communities we can develop a sustainable destination – together.
Expedia research shows that 7 in 10 consumers feel overwhelmed when trying to be a sustainable traveller. With 90% looking for sustainable booking options, it’s more important than ever that we make it as easy as possible for them.
Sustainable tourism is holidaying in an eco, green and environmentally friendly way. Responsible tourism is considering the wider impact a trip could have on Scotland, and the world.
A visitor choosing to experience Scotland responsibly can help:
protect our landscape
boost our local economy
prove the well-being of visitors and our communities
We’re asking visitors to show their commitment to preserving Scotland’s natural assets and beauty. Both for now and generations to come. The responsible tourism promise asks visitors to make a few simple "promises" on how they’ll enjoy Scotland, responsibly.
We invite everyone to help encourage responsible and safe tourism in Scotland.
Visitors are asked to commit to their promise and share it with others. They can use #RespectProtectEnjoy on X (Twitter) and encourage friends and family to do the same and get involved.
Take me to the responsible tourism promise on visitscotland.comWe need you to help encourage visitors to plan and enjoy a responsible trip in Scotland. Spread the message and share content that helps your visitors to make responsible choices. The more we talk about it, the more people will hear about it.
Use this messaging in your activity:
Our consumer website, visitscotland.com, has a range of ideas to support your business and inspire potential visitors.
Find everything from how a visitor can plan and enjoy a responsible trip, to outdoor access guidelines and responsible travel. All available for you to share.
Encourage visitors to consider travelling off-season in the quieter spring, autumn and winter months. And showcase our hidden gems – perfect any time of the year.
Transport has a big impact on how sustainable visitors are. Take a look at the information we have on the different travel options for your visitors.
Inspire visitors to stay longer by showcasing the many amazing experiences available to them. There’s too much to do in just a couple of days.
Our visitors can help give back to local communities by shopping and supporting local. Promote what your business does and the experiences that can be found on your doorstep.
Responsible tourism is threaded through all our marketing activity. We liaise regularly with our partners to ensure we're sharing the right messages, with the right audiences, at the right time.
We partnered with social media influencers The Hebridean Baker and On the Road Again Travels to produce inspirational content. This allowed us to reach a wider audience across social media and TikTok.
The use of influencers enables authentic messaging to reach new audiences. Our plan is to work with an even wider pull of influencers providing films that cover our key messages, in an engaging way.
We joined organisations across Scotland to develop a Scotland-wide coordinated approach to Visitor Management. We want to inspire and educate "novice" outdoor adventurers and visitors in how to enjoy the outdoors responsibly. We'll do this across marketing, media and social media.
Our collective ambition is for everyone to have the skills and knowledge to be able to enjoy the outdoors responsibly. This will in turn, enable them to aid the recovery of our rural economy.
Read about our Scotland-wide visitor management partner approachWe’re not the only ones producing content for you to share. Our partners also have images and videos for you to use.
Check out resources available to promote the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
Stay the Night returns to around 36 car parks across Scotland for 2023. Share the location map of all sites.
A host of information on keeping safe around water with campaign materials and general advice.
Good advice around things like wildfires and enjoying barbecues safely outdoors.
Video and print resources to help visitors prepare for their journey in Scotland.
Discover how positive messaging can reinforce and increase responsible visitor actions.
How to use social media for messaging
On your social channels, share messages of support, compassion, and community spirit. Consider what might resonate best with your audience.
Use #RespectProtectEnjoy across your social media activity. Remember to use #VisitScotland to make your posts more discoverable and add our handle @VisitScotland to your tweets for us to see them.
Make sure you follow our channels so that you can share our content directly or tag us in a post that you put up:
Consumer
Corporate
X (Twitter): @VisitScotland
X (Twitter): @VisitScotNews
Facebook: @visitscotland
Facebook: regional groups
Instagram: @visitscotland
LinkedIn: @VisitScotland
YouTube: Youtube.com/VisitScotland
YouTube: VisitScotland Connect