Cairngorms National Park Country Sports Initiative

The CSTG see the following as three essential areas to develop whilst in pursuit of market and sector growth:

1. Creating Greater Awareness and Promotion of Sporting  Opportunities

 

2. Attracting ‘Newcomers’ into CS

 

3. Developing the Experience for Non Sporting Group Members

1. Today’s consumer seeks choice in everything he/she does. They want to know what else exists in the sporting market so that they can make educated decisions. For those well versed in the nature of sport in Scotland they will have a base of contacts, built over many years, through which they can organise their sport. However even for these people they will only be aware of a small percentage of the total of what Scotland has to offer in terms of sport.

But for those who are either totally new to CS, are only occasional participants or are international sports people who wish to know about Scotland and the sporting opportunities here it can be an arduous exercise locating useful contacts and finding out what opportunities are available in Scotland.

2. The traditional market is in a time of much change. The security historically provided by the sons and daughters of sporting participants taking over the family annual booking as the time came has greatly diminished and unfortunately is continuing to do so. People have less time to fit in the traditional week booking and are being drawn away by the kaleidoscope of affordable and attractive alternative holiday options, both sporting and non sporting, that we hear about every day. We must certainly look at how to attract those traditional participants back, but as a longer term approach to sector development we must look at how to attract Newcomers into CS and build increased demand from the base upwards.

3. The emerging generation of non sporting partners/group members and children who make up today’s sporting group want more excitement and opportunities to fill their time with. Their time is as short as anyone else’s and on short breaks especially they want to know what is available and even book activities in advance of their arrival. The reality is that they add significantly to the overall spend of the group and how we attract them should be treated seriously. The emphasis is on accessible activities and opportunities for all if the traditional sporting break is to be seen in the future as an attractive family/group holiday option.

CSTG are developing this project within the CNP and would like to hear from all estates/sporting providers in this area who would potentially be interested in becoming involved.