![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/30915209511_3a1e84b317_o.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe figures were released to mark the latest stage in the John Muir Trust \u2018Keep it Wild\u2019 campaign, which calls on the Scottish Government to use the forthcoming Planning Bill to give Wild Land Areas protection from damaging industrial-scale development, similar to the protection already in place for windfarms in National Parks and National Scenic Areas (NSAs).<\/p>\n
Further YouGov survey results released at the start of the campaign in June showed that 80 per cent backed the proposition that Scotland\u2019s Wild Land Areas should receive continued protection from large-scale infrastructure development.<\/p>\n
Andrew Bachell, Chief Executive of the John Muir Trust said:<\/p>\n
\u201cAs schools across England break up to the summer holidays this week and many families flock to Scotland for breaks, we must stop and ask what they value about their stay. For many, it\u2019s the ability to enjoy being outdoors in Scotland\u2019s unique, unspoilt natural landscapes .<\/p>\n
\u201cVisitor expenditure in Scotland\u2019s National Parks alone is worth \u00a3187 million a year, with further revenues brought in by tourism businesses in scenic areas from Shetland to the Borders. So when a clear majority of people say they\u2019d be put off visiting scenic sites like Wild Land Areas by the existence of large-scale wind farms, giant pylons, super quarries and other inappropriate commercial developments, policymakers have to pay attention, before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe forthcoming Planning Bill offers a unique opportunity to provide the protection that Wild Land Areas – and the tourism they support – are currently missing. That\u2019s why the Keep it Wild campaign has been launched, to persuade the Scottish Government that protection for Wild Land Areas must be enshrined in legislation before they are lost for good.\u201d<\/p>\n
A similar YouGov poll run in 2013 found 51 per cent of respondents were \u201cless likely\u201d to visit a scenic area which contains large scale developments, compared with 55 per cent today. 28 per cent said they would definitely visit such areas anyway, compared to 26 per cent in the latest poll. The latest findings suggest that Scottish tourists to scenic areas are becoming increasingly concerned about the effect of overdevelopment on scenic areas.<\/p>\n
Tom Campbell, Managing Director of North Coast 500 said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe North Coast 500 has become one of the world\u2019s top touring routes in the last two years based on a wild land and seascape that has existed forever and we are now exposing the world to this amazing place that is the North Highlands. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to be aware of the balance between necessary development to underpin the economy and the fragility of the tourism economy which is based on choices people make to visit beautiful places and in our case, some of the most beautiful and wild in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Keep It Wild campaign urges people to show their support for Scotland\u2019s Wild Land Areas to be protected as a unique natural legacy for future generations by writing to their MSP and \/ or Scotland\u2019s Planning Minister, and getting involved on social media using the hashtag #keepitwild<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New research released by one of the UK\u2019s leading conservation charities has highlighted the potential benefits for Scotland\u2019s tourism industry of protecting the country\u2019s unique Wild Land Areas from industrial-scale development. A survey carried out by YouGov on behalf of the John Muir Trust reveals that the majority of Scottish adults \u2013 55 per cent \u2013 are \u201cless likely\u201d to visit scenic areas in Scotland if they contain large scale infrastructure, like commercial wind farms, electricity transmission and super-quarries. Just three per cent said they were \u201cmore likely\u201d to visit such areas, while 26 per cent said that the existence…<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16657,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16656"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16658,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16656\/revisions\/16658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}