221125CNPABdPaper2Annex1Managingforvisitors2022
CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY
Formal Board Paper 2 Annex I 25th November 2022
Managing for Visitors — End of season report, 2022
Overview
Feedback has recently been gathered from Ranger Services and land managers across the Park regarding visitor pressures and issues in 2022. Discussion also took place at the Managing for Visitors Group and the Cairngorms Tourism Partnership in the context of the Managing for Visitors Plan which is on the CNPA website and which highlights the main management mechanisms, the Ranger Service objectives and hotspots patrolled.
On the whole, feedback was that, although busy at peak holiday times, namely July and August, it was considered that visitor numbers were back in line with pre-pandemic levels, and therefore more manageable over the course of the season.
The main hotspot area of note remains in and around Cairngorms and Glenmore area (including the Glenmore Forest Park) with issues around levels of traffic, parking and informal camping in the main beach and lochside areas. The Cambus O May bridge in Deeside has continuing parking issues as does Loch Vaa in Strathspey. More positively, car park improvements at Loch Muick have alleviated the parking issues in Glen Muick that were experienced at peak times in recent years. The carpark is now managed by Balmoral Estate.
Partnership Working
The Cairngorms National Park has 15 Ranger Services operating, employed by a variety of organisations including. Ranger services provide a warm welcome and help support people to enjoy the park in a caring and responsible manner to help protect it for future generations.
CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY Formal Board Paper 2 Annex I 25th November 2022
| RANGER SERVICE | PERMANENT RANGERS | SEASONAL RANGERS | TRAINEE RANGERS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairngorm Mountain | 1 | ||
| Rothiemurchus | 3 | 1 | |
| FLS Glenmore | 1 | 2 | |
| Atholl Estate | 1 | ||
| NTS Killiecrankie | 1 | ||
| RSPB Abernethy | 1 | 2 | |
| Glenlivet Estate | 1 | ||
| Dorenell | 2 | ||
| NTS Mar Lodge | 2 | 1 | |
| Balmoral | 2 | ||
| NS Muir of Dinnet | 2 | 1 | |
| Glen Tanar | 1 | ||
| Aberdeenshire council | 1 | ||
| Highlife Highland | 1 | ||
| CNPA | 5 | 10 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 24 | 21 | 6 |
Ranger services based in key visitor hotspot areas, Muir of Dinnet, Rothiemurchus, Loch Garten, Glen Doll, Linn of Dee, Glen Tanar, Loch Muick and data from CNPA rangers operating across the Park, collected the following visitor data between March and October 2022:
- People rangers engaged with whilst out patrolling: 31,388
- Tents encountered that required ranger engagement: 3,183
- Campervans encountered that required ranger engagement: 4142
- Dogs encountered off lead & out of control requiring ranger engagement: 440
- Live fires / BBQ’s dealt with & extinguished: 192
- Old fire sites cleared: 787
- Black bags of litter removed: 595
Cairngorms National Park Authority Ranger Service
| LOCATION | PERMANENT RANGERS | SEASONAL RANGERS (Mar-Oct) | TRAINEE RANGERS (Jun – Sept) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Badenoch & Strathspey | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| Deeside | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Angus Glens | 1 | ||
| TOTAL | 5 | 10 | 4 |
The role of the CNPA Ranger Service is to work with partners to provide a ranger presence and welcome at key visitor ‘hotspots’ including communities, car parks, trail heads
CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY Formal Board Paper 2 Annex I 25th November 2022
etc. We also deliver aspects of outlearning objects as set out in NPPP4 through education activities, John Muir Awards and junior rangers, connecting people to nature.
CNPA Ranger Service patrols – comparison of 2021 and 2022 data
| No. of people engage d with | No. of tents encoun tered | No. of overnight camperva ns | No. of dogs off on a lead | No. of live fires/BBQ extinguis hed | No. of old fire /BBQ remain S cleared | No. of bags of litter collect ed | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11467 | 1692 | 1818 | 3361 | 440 | 605 | 425 | |||||
| 2021 | 6777 | 759 | 674 | 2469 | 359 | 47 | 421 | 369 | ||||
| +/- | +4690 | + 933 | + 1,144 | 892 | +81 | + 64 + 184 | +56 |
Active Cairngorms Campaign
The summer paid-for managing for visitors campaign came to an end on 4 September after a period of two months. The campaign specifically targeted audiences we don’t reach through our standard channels and was mostly driven through Facebook and Instagram. In total the campaign reached 1.8 million people and 12.4 million impressions (almost double the original estimate), with Facebook performing well with audiences over 45 and Instagram specialising in reaching younger demographics. Ads on parking, dog walking and camping performed best, with those for littering and outdoor toileting performing less well. Images without people performed better than those which included them, backing up visitor research conducted as part of the Cairngorms Capercaillie Project. Alongside our paid-for work, we also produced a series of posts and videos for our owned channels, with these reaching around 170,000 people across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Findings from the project will inform our long-term approach to visitor information and behaviour change campaigns (both in terms of ad placement and content / design).
CNPA
Nov 2022