How slow tourism visitors have proven a £1m goldmine for Scottish Highland communities

Now, the rugged route, which leads you to the north Highland village from Inverness, has proved to be an economic benefit to its surrounding communities.

Figures from the Association of Northern Trails of Scotland (ANTS), the charity behind the trail, have revealed that the route attracts some 1,000 walkers per year.

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These visitors are thought to have contributed around £900,000 to the local economy in 2024, with this figure projected to surpass £1 million in 2025, ANTS said.

The economic contribution from the trail was calculated using trail people counters - devices that count people using a trail - located near Wick and Berriedale. Numbers were also tracked using a “sign-in book” which recorded visitors passing through.

These showed a 60 per cent rise in visitor numbers since 2021.

Walking tourists spend was estimated at £65 per day, using comparable figures generated by a NatureScot study into outdoor tourism.

The slow tourist venture, established by Jay Wilson in 2016, has been growing in stature, with the appointment of a trail development manager, Kenneth McElroy, in 2022.

Last year, a second trail development manager, Laura Gray, was appointed to lead on establishing a new trail known as the North Coast Trail. This is to run from where the John o’ Groats trail ends to Cape Wrath along the north coast.

Jay Wilson, chairman of ANTS, said: “Part of the reason behind the trail is to strengthen and diversify the North Highland economy – we know that tourism is important to Scotland, but communities are able to derive even more benefits from slow tourism.

“Slow tourists, quite frankly, spend more time here, so they spend more money here.

“But the development of a major recreational feature like a cliff-top trail also makes the Highlands a more attractive place to live, work, and do business.”

Kenneth McElroy said businesses in the area where the route is have reported an increase in trail walkers.

“We’ve spoken to many business owners – whether it’s wee bed and breakfast, hotel, campsite, museum or a café, and they’ve all reported an uptick in trail walkers using their facilities,” he said.

“It’s great to see the trail benefiting so many businesses and organisations.”

One business to have benefited from the development of the trail includes bed and breakfast Flotnar Hus in Keiss, run by Alan Bain, who recently donated £500 towards the charity.

He said the business had seen a 60 per cent increase in bookings from visitors completing the trail.

Mr Brain said: “We are hugely grateful for the efforts of the John o’ Groats Trail team (JOGT).

“They have been working hard to promote health and wellbeing in the community by improving access for locals and visitors.”

He added: “The work of the JOGT deserves to be recognised.

“Our latest donation is a personal thank you to the team's commitment to improving the local area.”

Walking and Trail walking in Scotland continues to be growing outdoor activity, with a VisitScotland report carried out in early 2024 noting that 43 per cent of UK visitors plan on “walking, hiking or rambling” that year, with “connecting with nature” being a popular reason to do so.

In 2023, VisitScotland revealed that “outdoor leisure activities and sports such as walking or cycling” generated £460 million of spend towards the Scottish economy.