RECORD NUMBERS of visitors are expected in Perthshire during the first weekend of July for the renowned Game Conservancy Scottish Fair, generating over £1 million for the local economy.

Visitors, competitors and traders travel from across the UK to attend the fair, and it is anticipated visitor numbers will be in excess of last year’s 33,000.

The event, which is held in the grounds of Scone Palace, will take place from Friday, June 30, to Sunday, July 2.

An economic impact study funded by Perth and Kinross Council and Game Conservancy Ltd was carried out at last year’s event.

It concluded that the fair is worth over £1m to the economy of Perth and Kinross.

It also showed that 91% of the Scottish visitors to the fair came from outwith Perth and Kinross.

Over 90% of these visitors would not have taken the trip to the area had the event not been staged.

While the fair is a much welcomed and anticipated date in the Perthshire events calendar, it is expected there will be an increase in traffic as a result of the many thousands of visitors coming to the area.

Traffic delays may occur in and around the Perth city centre and Scone areas from Friday morning through to Sunday evening.

As a result residents and visitors will be advised to try to avoid peak hour travel on the roads in those areas, during that weekend, if possible.

Signing will also be in place to help drivers going to the fair to avoid Perth.

For example traffic coming from the north and west will be advised to go via Stanley to the A93.

Traffic from Dundee and north Fife will be advised to travel via Coupar Angus then to the A93. Other traffic will be diverted via the M90 to Bridgend.

The extension to a three-day event did ease congestion considerably for last year’s record-breaking attendance, and it is hoped this will be the case again this year.

Maps showing signed priority routes to the fair from all over Scotland can be downloaded from www.scottishfair.com.

Residents are also being advised that some noise is expected to be heard as result of clay pigeon competitions. This is expected from 9.30am to 6pm each day of the event.

Perth and Kinross Council’s enterprise and infrastructure convener Councillor Alan Livingstone said, “The fair is a spectacular event and regarded as one of the main countryside events of the year in Scotland.

“I’m delighted it’s held in Perthshire and appreciate the enormous boost such a popular event brings to the local economy.

“The results of the economic impact study illustrate how valuable the fair is as a tourism driver and the significant contribution it makes to the local economy.”

The Tullibardine Distillery is providing ‘the spirit of the fair’ by sponsoring the event.

“We decided to sponsor the fair because we feel there is a strong connection between people who are interested in field sports, and people who enjoy malt whisky,” said Michael Beamish, a director of the Perthshire company.