Scottish Marine Recreation & Tourism Survey 2015

In 2014, the Scottish Government commissioned Land Use Consultants to undertake a study to fill data gaps on marine recreation and tourism activity in Scotland and to provide baseline information for marine planning.  The project was designed and undertaken with the industry and co-funded by the Scottish Government with additional contributions from The Firth of Clyde Forum, The Crown Estate and The Scottish Coastal Forum.

The Scottish Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey (SMRTS) was carried out between August and October 2015.  It was designed to gather information for 23 different recreation and tourism activities undertaken at sea or around the Scottish coastline.  For the purposes of this study marine recreation and tourism is defined as: ‘including those activities which involve travel away from one’s “habitual” place of residence, which have as their host or focus the marine environment and/or the coastal zone’.  SMRTS comprised a web-based survey which gathered spatial information on the activities people had undertaken during the previous twelve months and asked detailed questions about their one or two most important activities.  A survey of businesses was also undertaken. 

The final report and the accompanying maps can be found in the map and data tables below.

All the maps below are set to 'restricted zoom' to avoid over interpretation of the data.

This information page is part of the theme: 
Scottish Marine and Tourism Survey 2015 - Copyright © Marine Scotland

Links and Resources

Map Type Click title for metadata and licence informationsort descending Date of data View Map
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - All activities combined (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Birds and wildlife watching (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Canoeing or kayaking in the sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Coastal climbing, bouldering and coasteering (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Dinghy racing at sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - General marine and coastal recreation (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - General marine and coastal tourism (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Land yachting, power kiting and kite buggying at the coast (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Long-distance swimming in the sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Motor cruising at sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Other unclassified activities (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Personal watercraft (jet skis) at sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Power boating at sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Rowing and sculling in the sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Sailing and cruising at sea including dinghies (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - SCUBA diving in the sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Sea angling from a private or chartered boat (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Sea angling from shore (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Surfing, surf kayaking or paddleboarding in the sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Visits to historic sites and attractions (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Walking at the coast (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Water-skiing and wakeboarding in the sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Wildfowling (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Windsurf and kite surfing at the coast (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi
Map Layers (NMPi) Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015 - Yacht racing at sea (restricted zoom) 2016-03-21 Access this map on NMPi