Press Pause Projects Help Rebalance Tourism in 10 North Highlands Communities
A series of workshop-based projects are helping ten local areas across the North Highlands pioneer a community-first visitor-second approach to tourism.
Following the success of the pilot, the organisers are keen to hear from other communities across the North Highlands who want to use this tailored approach to make tourism work better for them.
The Press Pause projects, run by SCOTO CIC and supported and funded by NHI with additional grant support from Highland Council’s Community Regeneration Fund via Wester Ross Biosphere, are bringing together communities to identify issues and opportunities and support the creation of a plan to take back control of tourism locally.
Genevieve Duhigg, Chair of NHI, said:
“Drawing these groups together has been hugely positive and a way of allowing communities to develop and manage tourism in their areas in a way that works for them. Some of the issues identified were common to many regions: from challenges around staffing and motorhomes, to opportunities for increased accommodation provision and community-controlled marketing and information provision that would allow local people to choose and control how the area was promoted.”
The ten areas, which stretch from Dornie to Thurso, are each running a local workshop for business and community interests which is fully facilitated by SCOTO. This then generates a detailed report setting out the findings and filled with ideas and opportunities for the community to lead and control the development, management and promotion of their community as a destination. A key feature of each workshop and the report is reference to experience elsewhere as a stimulus for action.
Each community is then being provided with additional funding from NHI to progress quick wins. These range from festivals and guidebooks, to murals, maps and trails.
Examples include Lochcarron staging a Tartan Week celebration at the end of September this year bringing the community together through various events and activities in recognition of this west coast village being the inspiration behind a global tartan brand. The hope is this will become an annual event. In addition, Thurso has repositioned itself as the Hub of the North in recognition of it being the northernmost town on the UK mainland, and has published a new online guidebook.
Other communities are looking at new tear off maps to better orientate and disperse visitors and are looking at resurrecting old and creating new self-guided walks and online content to much better portray their community as a great place to live, work and visit.
Genevieve Duhigg continued:
“These workshops have been terrifically successful in getting different interests around the table, focusing minds on local issues and finding solutions. They have enabled communities to scope out and take forward innovative and effective projects that will allow them to better control the tourism in their own area, creating a community-first; visitor-second approach that supports them to thrive. We’re really pleased to have been able to fund these projects and it’s extremely positive to see communities come together to take them forward.”
Carron Tobin, Executive Director of SCOTO said:
“I’m delighted with the appetite for these Press Pause projects. We piloted this with Thurso and Lochcarron, and the format we’ve developed enables groups to find solutions to the challenges presented by tourism and capitalise on the opportunities in a way that works for the needs of local people. We are finding that Press Pause is stimulating proper discussions about what really matters to individual communities; and then focussing on what needs to be done differently.
“We know that there are other communities across the North Highlands that are interested in getting involved in Press Pause and would urge them to get in touch. We’d be keen, for example, to develop an island-based programme including areas in the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland and would be keen to hear from communities there.
“With the work progressed with NHI and further afield, the Press Pause process is now recognised as a tried, tested and tailored approach for any Scottish community who wants to make tourism work better for them and bring added value.”
The North Highlands communities involved in Press Pause are:
- Lochcarron
- Thurso
- Brora
- Wick
- Plockton
- Ullapool
- Sheildaig
- Dornie
- Durness
- Tongue
About Press Pause
The North Highlands Press Pause initiatives allow communities to pause and collectively reflect on tourism in the local area. This allows for the recognition of shared and chronic issues: from staffing, housing and motorhome impact to the lack of facilities, poor digital content or a fragmented representation of the destination. Groups then explore joint solutions and share best practice and inspiration from elsewhere with the overall objective of making tourism a force for good for everyone.
Press Pause revolves around a half day facilitated workshop which brings community and business interests together to collectively consider tourism. It covers a number of relevant topics, with key focuses on destination competency, sense of place and place branding. This allows for the identification of specific actions that businesses and the local community can progress in the short, medium and longer term.
In total 31 communities across Scotland have benefited from Press Pause workshops to date.
Those looking to find out more about the North Highlands Press Pause community-led tourism projects, should contact info@north-highlands.co.uk.
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To tackle the challenges of increased tourism, we established the Community Infrastructure Support Programme (CISP). This fund helps provide vital amenities like waste bins, toilets, and information signs—small things that make a big difference to both locals and visitors.
We’re also working with partners like SCOTO on the “Press Pause” projects. These initiatives allow communities to take a step back, reflect on the impact of tourism, and recognise shared issues. By coming together, local groups can explore joint solutions and share best practices from other areas, ensuring that tourism continues to be a force for good in the North Highlands.
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New Tourism Press Pause Projects to be Launched in the North Highlands
Tourism initiatives that put communities first are being rolled out in two North Highlands areas. Following successful pilots in Lochcarron and Thurso this summer, Press Pause projects are being launched in Brora and Plockton by North Highland Initiative (NHI) and SCOTO (Scottish Community Tourism Network).
Genevieve Duhigg, Chair of NHI said:
“In the last few years many communities have felt that tourism happens to them – rather than with or for them. The projects we’ve worked on with SCOTO seek to recalibrate tourism and measure what is important to the individual community. This allows communities to take ownership of tourism and steer it in a way that delivers for local people. We’ve already established a funding route via our Community Support Fund and look forward to using this to support the activation of these projects.
“This is a golden opportunity for individual communities to focus on positioning themselves in a way that works for them and is also a way of welcoming visitors as temporary locals, with rich insights into the past, present and future of the community.”
Carron Tobin, Chair of SCOTO said:
“Frankly, it’s an opportunity to get off the hamster wheel and focus on making tourism a force for good. This is something that so many communities have told us they wanted to do.”
“We’re excited to be working on projects in two more North Highlands areas but would strongly encourage other communities to consider this approach and to get in touch as we’d would like to roll this programme out across the region.”
The North Highlands Press Pause pilots to date have provided a research-based study of each area using a system of mystery shopper appraisals of each community as a visitor destination, and face to face workshops for businesses and communities. The ensuing feedback and reports provided recommendations for the development of a Community Led Tourism Activity Plan which include a community owned place brand and visitor proposition for each area as well as practical and achievable next steps. The local area is also provided with a useful measurement template to monitor the impact of future tourism.
Instead of simply measuring overnight stays and visitor spend, these projects allow for groups to work towards priorities that really matter to the area. For some this means encouraging young people to stay or move to the area; for others the conservation of cultural assets may be more important. Others may see the creation of permanent jobs as success. The important thing is that these factors are agreed on locally by the community and, with the help of those steering the project, can then be placed at the heart of any tourism strategy and activity going forwards.
Further grant funding to support the activation of the resulting plans will be supported by both grant funding, via the well-established NHI Community Support Fund, and in-kind support from SCOTO and NHI.
The North Highlands Press Pause initiatives allow communities to pause and collectively reflect on tourism in the local area. This allows for the recognition of shared and chronic issues: from staffing, housing and motorhome impact to the lack of facilities, poor digital content or a fragmented representation of the destination. Groups then explore joint solutions and share best practice and inspiration from elsewhere with overall objective of making tourism a force for good for everyone.
Other communities across the region are encouraged to get in touch to find out about launching a Press Pause project in their own area. The scheme is open to those in Caithness, Sutherland, Wester Ross, Easter Ross and the islands of Orkney, Shetland, Lewis and Harris
Those looking to find out more about the North Highlands Press Pause community-led tourism projects, should contact info@north-highlands.co.uk.
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