£375,000 in funding allocated to Highland Perthshire-based project aimed at tackling pressures on River Tay

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A total of £375,000 in funding has been allocated to a Highland Perthshire -based project aiming to tackle visitor management pressures on the River Tay.

Eleven projects across the country have been recommended for approval to receive a share of just over £2.6 million in cash from the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) to encourage ‘sustainable tourism’.Centres recommended for approval included £375,000 for the Grandtully Visitor Management Project.The funding will go towards the creation of an additional 40 car park spaces with 17 toilets, improved interpretation signage, camping facilities and installation of six EV charging points plus e-bike charging points and facilities.Outside the region there was also £147,354 of money designated towards the creation of toilets and motorhome facilities at the main beach car park in Gairloch and £228,200 for parking and visitor facilities at Glen Affric.Managed by VisitScotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, the RTIF was created to improve the quality of the visitor experience in rural parts of Scotland that have faced pressure on their infrastructure due to an increase in visitor numbers.It aims to reduce the impact of visitor numbers on local communities and facilities.Round four was open for applications from local authorities and national park authorities, in partnership with their communities, and is aimed at funding infrastructure improvements such as parking with EV charging points and e-bike facilities, campervan facilities – including disposal points – viewpoints and toilet provision.

Convener of Perth and Kinross Council’s environment and infrastructure committee, Councillor Angus Forbes, said: “We are delighted that the funding has been awarded which will