Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop announces tourist site funding on Moray visit
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SCOTTISH Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop announced the opening of new funding applications for rural tourist sites on a visit to a historic Moray site this week.
Pluscarden Abbey has received £80,500 for upgrades recently and, on Monday, the SNP's Ms Hyslop opened their new brand new car park – with 36 spaces – as well as a new toilet and seating area.
She then announced the funding application process for similar tourist sites is now open. Sites can apply for a share of the £3 million funding, which is aimed at helping meet the demand of growing visitor numbers.
A total of 31 projects across 10 local authorities and two national park authorities have already been offered grants worth nearly £6 million in the previous two rounds of Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) awards. This will be the third round of awards.
The fund – administered by VisitScotland – helps with improvements such as parking areas, visitor facilities and recycling points.
On her visit to Moray, Fiona Hyslop said: "While we should be proud Scotland's breathtaking natural scenery and rich historical sites attract so many visitors and help the local economy, we know this success is often tempered by increased pressure on communities, services, transport and facilities – particularly in rural areas.
"The importance of a fund dedicated to helping deal with increasing demand can be seen by the level of interest in the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund since its creation in 2017 and the improvements it has been able to fund. That is why in September we announced that a further £3 million was being made available to invest in new projects in 2020-21.
"Applications are now being invited from local authorities and national park authorities to apply individually or in partnership with their communities for a share of this pot."
During her Moray visit, The Tourism, Culture and External Affairs Secretary also visited Lossiemouth's East Beach Bridge, which the Scottish Government have pledged to repair, and met representatives of Forres' Falconer Museum.
