Establishing the vital role of communities in tourism – and recalibrating what we measure

The Scottish Community Tourism Network (SCOTO) emphasises the critical yet underappreciated role of community tourism in Scotland’s economy, calling for a shift in how its contributions are measured and supported.

Heads were nodding when SCOTO, the Scottish Community Tourism Network, received a presentation from RSE on their recent publication ‘The economic contribution of the third sector in Scotland’ at the SCOTO 2024 conference. The report’s finding – that the “third sector” makes a significant contribution to the Scottish economy – comes as no surprise to those of us involved in community tourism. The concern is this contribution has never been adequately measured and government support for the third sector is fragmented.

A lack of information and understanding about the third sector means that it is rarely mentioned in growth strategies and economic opportunities are missed.  The Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation[1] does not include any third sector organisation in its main lists of stakeholders – despite the focus on a wellbeing economy.  We heard there is a debate on whether the third sector makes a “core” or “supportive” contribution.  For tourism, this is absolutely core when communities are now providing the most basic visitor services – toilets and visitor information – and are at the heart of authentic cultural and heritage experiences, events, and festivals.

A report [2] in 2018 highlighted that tourism accounts for 5% of Scotland’s GDP and 8% of employment. However, the third sector’s contribution isn’t included. Across Scotland, community-based organisations, charities, and social enterprises are operating visitor service hubs, providing accommodation, feeding visitors, selling local art and produce, and giving people authentic memorable experiences – often with volunteers to the fore and not purely for visitor benefit. Their contribution is crucial.

There are at least 2000 community tourism enterprises in Scotland, contributing over £150 million annually.

We’ve made a guess at the size of community-led tourism, based on a brief SCOTO audit in rural Ayrshire. Scaling up, our estimate is that there are at least 2000 community tourism enterprises in Scotland, contributing over £150 million annually. This accounts for 5% of the value of tourism in Scotland emanating from not-for-profit enterprises. [3] We can’t overstate how basic an estimate this is, and we are confident that a more thorough study would reveal a bigger contribution by community tourism. We’d welcome a more accurate figure.

Why is this important? In short, to be listened to, valued, understood and supported, and to gain access to resources. Furthermore, many issues need debate and action as communities across the globe are overwhelmed by visitor activity and suffer from a lack of infrastructure and investment. Communities are taking matters into their own hands – think of the protests by residents of Barcelona. As the RSE’s report clearly shows, you have to be formally recognised and measured to be taken seriously.

If we are serious about responsible tourism, as argued in Scotland Outlook 2030, we need to recalibrate tourism to deliver for our communities and environment first. Recalibration means measuring what matters—young people retained, living-wage jobs provided, available, affordable housing—not simply footfall, jobs, and bed nights. It also means focusing resources on where they impact quality of life.

The RSE report calls for more work on quantifying the size and impact of the third sector. There is certainly some serious work to be done in community tourism. Who wants to join us in getting it done?

References

[1] https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-national-strategy-economic-transformation/

[2] https://www.gov.scot/publications/tourism-scotland-economic-contribution-sector/pages/4/

[3] https://www.gov.scot/publications/tourism-scotland-economic-contribution-sector/pages/4/  Chapter 4 talks about a £3 billion contribution to the Scottish economy.

Carron Tobin, Executive Director at the Scottish Community Tourism Network (SCOTO CIC)

Catriona Waddington, Director at the Scottish Community Tourism Network (SCOTO CIC)

This was in response to the RSE’s policy advice report, the economic contributions of the third sector.