I wish tourists would be more imaginative when visiting Scotland
Tourists want to explore the Scotland they’ve seen in movies and TV series. If you want to know where to avoid, log on to the Visit Scotland website
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Your support makes all the difference.Scotland is experiencing a tourist boom – undeterred by midges and the misty weather, there was a 13.9 per cent increase in the number of visitors last year, compared to a meagre 1.2 per cent rise for London – seen by many as too expensive.
Nearly all these tourists want to explore the Scotland they’ve seen in movies and TV series, so if you want to know where to avoid, log on to the Visit Scotland website, which features a list of eight cinematic locations, from the Glenfinnan Railway viaduct near Fort William (two Harry Potter films), to Rosslyn Chapel at Roslin (the Da Vinci Code) and Glen Nevis (Braveheart).
Every year I like to walk and fish in the Highlands, and once made the mistake of booking a very pleasant hotel within a mile of Glenfinnan. Hundreds of Japanese and Chinese Harry Potter fans arrived at teatime, posing for selfies before getting back onto their coaches for another drive-by photo opportunity by the Bonnie Prince Charlie Monument. Walking in Glen Etive used to be a solitary experience, but since the scene in Skyfall where Judi Dench and Daniel Craig take a scenic drive there in his Aston Martin DB5, cars roar up and down the narrow road.
In summer dozens of partygoers turn up who want to relive the Bond experience. They pitch tents, get stoned and then depart without taking any equipment, leaving local gamekeepers to pick up discarded sleeping bags, ground sheets, pots and pans, not to mention beer cans and bottles. Isn’t Visit Scotland in danger of shooting itself in the foot by promoting a few sites so heavily? There are plenty of castles and unspoilt glens north of the border – how about Corrour, Rannoch Moor or Sunderland – I’d like to see tourists be a bit more adventurous and spread out a bit. And take their litter home.
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