The eyes of the world were fixed on Scotland in November when the COP26 climate change summit took place in Glasgow at the SEC on the banks of the River Clyde.
But after the thousands of delegates packed their bags and headed home, a strong and positive legacy from the event was taking shape in Scotland. And this legacy will mean genuine change as our cities’ move towards net zero.
One industry that is determined to play its part in a greener future is tourism.
Tourists love Scotland, due to its strong cultural heritage – there is so much for them to see and do – and at COP26, the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism set the stage for the changes that are coming.
The Declaration makes it clear that every part of the tourism industry has an important role in helping our planet – including hotels, airlines, ferry and train operators, and car companies.
And a set of COP26 legacy projects has been launched, which include exciting initiatives in Glasgow and Inverness that will accelerate cuts to emissions while sharing knowledge with destinations worldwide. Tour operator The Travel Corporation, known for its Scottish brands including Haggis Adventures and the Highland Explorer Tours, will be supported in a mission to cut emissions from transport and food production in the sector.
Malcolm Roughead, the chief executive of VisitScotland, said climate change “is one of the biggest long-term challenges facing the tourism sector”. He added: “We must take action if we want to preserve and enhance Scotland’s natural and built assets to create an environment which benefits communities, businesses and our visitors.”
Of course, we all have a part to play in making tourism greener – and it’s easy to do something positive. Simple steps for individuals such as using your hotel towels for several days, turning the heating down in your room, and choosing public transport over hire cars all add up and can make a huge difference.
Help, too, is at hand for Scottish businesses who want to do their bit and make positive changes. The Destination Net Zero programme is a £4 million scheme which will provide support to tourism businesses and destinations as they transition to a greener, more sustainable, net zero future.
This includes the Hospitality Net Zero project, which is a Glasgow-based scheme that encourages businesses to focus on cutting food waste in hotels, bars and restaurants.
By taking action on climate change, tourism businesses can actually attract new customers by meeting the increasing demand from visitors for responsible and sustainability-focused experiences.
Scottish Government Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise Ivan McKee said: “Destination Net Zero will play an important role in helping support Scotland’s tourism sector transition to a low carbon future through globally recognised leadership in responsible, sustainable, managed growth.”
For developers and investors with ESG at the heart of their strategies, there are several exciting developments in the tourism and hospitality sector ready for investment across Scotland’s cities. Stirling’s Kildean Business Park, with its enviable views of Stirling Castle, offers strong possibilities for hotel and leisure developments, while Inverness Campus is seeking an on-site hotel development to sit alongside and benefit from being co-located with NHS Highland, UHI and the cluster of innovative life science organisations that have based themselves at the Campus.
For further information on investment and development opportunities in tourism and hospitality, as well as opportunities across all of the key sectors in Scotland’s cities, see our Investment Prospectus.
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