Why North Coast 500 over-tourism tensions are becoming increasingly urgent for billionaire laird

Earlier this month, Innovation Norway, a state-owned entity, halted a campaign marketing the country as an outdoor tourist destination. The global push had aimed to spread word of allemannsretten, a codified principle similar to Scotland’s right to roam legislation, granting unfettered access to nature and uncultivated land.

The playful campaign featured sheep grazing on spectacular hillsides. Not everyone was amused, however. Tourism officials in northern and western Norway warned that rural communities were struggling to cope with visitor numbers. Having suspended the campaign, Innovation Norway vowed to continue its dialogue with municipal authorities. Quite how the stand-off can be resolved is unclear, but at least a conversation is underway.

The time for Scotland to follow suit is long overdue. Even after a summer that never was, the nation’s rural hotspots have again endured challenging times, such as communities across the North Coast 500 (NC500). Come next year, it will be a decade since the NC500 branding was launched – a wheeze dreamed up by the North Highland Initiative, a non-profit set up by King Charles – to encourage “sensitive and sustainable” tourism.

Sporadic research has indicated that the route has boosted the north Highland economy, but there are doubts about the true impact, with an increasingly vocal contingent speaking out about the repercussions for a regional infrastructure many consider substandard. Two Facebook groups set up to discuss problems surrounding the NC500 have close to 26,000 members between them – more than the populations of Fort William, Wick, Aviemore, and Portree combined.

This summer, the firm behind NC500 launched a survey for local residents and businesses to “reduce the negative impacts of tourism”, and Highland Council is planning to consult on how a new tourist tax should work in the region. But the problems require even more far-reaching solutions. 

The key, surely, is who controls the overarching NC500 vision. A company controlled by Anders Holch Povlsen, Scotland’s richest man and largest landowner, is now the majority shareholder of North Coast 500 Ltd, the firm set up by Charles. Mr Povlsen’s firm may not own all the land surrounding the NC500, but it has been shrewd enough to benefit. Its website, the first port of call for most prospective tourists, advertises several of the Dane’s properties, and holds trademarks allowing it to sell the likes of NC500 branded maps and clothing. 

Since Mr Povlsen began buying up Scottish estates nearly two decades ago, opinion has been divided as to whether his accumulative tendencies are detrimental or beneficial. Yet the fundamental question is whether one man and his company should be able to wield such extraordinary influence over a vast landmass. Some argue the billionaire’s interest represents the kind of lateral thinking sorely needed at a time of fiscal constraint. But is a steeper price being paid? Many would say so.

No one, least of all those in a part of Scotland with deep, interrelated socio-economic challenges, wants to stop tourism altogether. But with every passing summer, the need for a bold and uncomfortable conversation becomes increasingly urgent.