Visitor numbers in Scotland’s first national park this year than before the Covid-19 pandemic, a new report has revealed.
Booking for campsites in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs this year were ‘considerably higher’ than in 2019, the park authority’s annual report has revealed.
The number of day visitors to the national park was still high, especially in the summer during good weather, but there were fewer issues with irresponsible parking, which had been a significant problem in 2020 and 2021.
The visitor management end of year report states: “For the 2023 season, it was expected that the cost-of-living crisis would have an impact on domestic visitors but that staycations and day visits would remain popular, alongside the recovering international market.
“Anecdotal reports from businesses in the park suggest these expectations were borne out.”
Litter was still a problem though, with 1,138 bags removed by rangers and 199 bags by volunteers.
This was slightly less than in 2022 though, and work on social media by the park authority is though to have helped, with one post (below) outlining enforcement action for flytipping being seen by 142,000 people.
Three environment officers were employed this season, compared to two last year, to help tackle litter and flytipping with a seven-day service.
The park authority recruited 44 seasonal rangers this year to support the 20 permanent ranger staff during their busiest period, with just over half of the seasonal rangers being
employed as permanent seasonal staff, meaning they will return to work with the authority during the visitor season in future years to come.
Camping data for 2023 shows a total of 16,027 permit bookings – up 5% on last year, with 30,056 adults and 5,802 children booked into permit areas and a 53% increase in camping permit bookings compared to 2019 before Covid-19 restrictions.
The number of alleged contraventions of the camping management byelaws remained similar to 2022, with the most common offence reported being ‘setting up and occupying a tent without authorisation’ followed by ‘failure to provide details’.
The report was discussed at a meeting of the park authority in Lomond Parish Church, Balloch, today – it is available here as a PDF: Agenda-Item-8-zAppendix-1-Visitor-Management-End-of-Year-Report-FINAL
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