The Forest Tourism Initiative is a collaboration between Scottish Enterprise, Forestry Commission Scotland, VisitScotland and Highlands & Islands Enterprise.

Its goal is to enhance the visitor experience of Scotland's forests by working with Forestry Commision Scotland’s (FCS) districts and with Scotland's tourism businesses to improve and develop the forest tourism product.

If you’re already using the national forest estate as an integral part of your work, if your business is based in or near a forest, or if you’re simply looking for new ways to add value to your visitors’ experience or persuade them to stay longer and spend more, there is a reason for you to become involved with the Forest Tourism Initiative.

Facts and figures
An estimated 18 million visits are made to Scotland’s woods and forests every year (GB Day Visits Survey 2003). Research, due at the end of the year, is currently underway to ascertain accurately the value of the different types of forest visitors, but the information currently available implies that this is worth approximately £100 million annually to the Scottish economy.  

We are half-way through a 3 year research project, the All Forest Survey, which will, for the first time, provide accurate and directly comparable results for all of Scotland’s 15 forest districts on visitor numbers, behaviour and choices, allowing FC Scotland to make informed and strategically chosen decisions about recreation development across the country.

Activities to date
For the Forest Tourism Initiative, our biggest challenge, initially, has been to choose which sectors to prioritise, having realised that the forest estate can meet the needs of consumers in each of VisitScotland’s brand areas, but particularly Freedom & Culture and Active.

Along with participating in a series of innovation days, the following is a snapshot of what we’re doing and why

Download latest Forest Tourism Initiative newsletter
PDF document  720 kb

What does this mean for you?
The Forest Tourism Initiative is there to help, facilitate and signpost. If you have a business idea, we can help you bring it to fruition, facilitating contact with useful people and organisations and signposting you in the direction of funding, innovative planning and development.

What’s your local FCS forest? How can its presence help your business or your community as a destination?

For up-to-date information, have a look at the factsheet available below or get in touch through the contact details below.

Download What's in it for me? A Forest Tourism Initiative factsheet
PDF 252 kb

Contact Details
The project manager is Fiona Murray, who can be contacted on 0131 314 6140 or fiona.murray@forestry.gsi.gov.uk