Car-Free TourismSustrans Scotland
executive summary
Through our Car-Free Tourism website, we made it easier for people to visit Scotland’s top tourist attractions by foot, bike or public transport.
challenge
Sustrans Scotland wanted to promote alternatives to car travel for visitors in Scotland. They felt that although many of Scotland’s top visitor attractions were actually very accessible by public transport, foot or bike, lots of people didn’t realise this and were put off travelling because they thought that they needed a car.
solution
We worked with tourism organisations and transport operators to promote Scotland as an attractive destination for visitors who can’t or don’t want to travel by car.
Through our car-free tourism website, we showed how easy it was to visit most of Scotland’s popular tourist attractions by foot, bike or public transport. We provided visitors with detailed but simple instructions on the nearest railway stations, local buses, walking and cycling routes. We provided all the information that tourists would require to travel to visitor attractions without spending time on lots of research or jumping between different travel-planning websites.
We also provided advice for tourism operators to encourage them to develop or improve sustainable travel options for visitors.
results
The Car-Free tourism website was launched at Glasgow’s Riverside Museum. It generated TV and newspaper media coverage, and even a Motion in the Scottish Parliament.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said:
“This is an excellent initiative which will provide visitors to Scotland with alternative, environmentally friendly ways of getting to some of our outstanding attractions. As part of our Quality Assurance Scheme, VisitScotland encourages Scottish tourism businesses to promote public transport options and car-free activities, and Transform Scotland’s new guide will prove a useful resource to visitors and business owners alike.”
