Seven new seasonal rangers have been hired to protect Perthshire beauty spots from dirty campers.
This comes after last summer saw a spike in visitors to Perth and Kinross, with some tourists engaging in anti-social behaviour, inconsiderate parking, leaving behind litter and in some cases even human waste.
A recent survey showed more than half of those living in Mid Scotland, including Fife, Perth and Kinross, said that they were concerned about the issue of dirty camping, with 69% believing it will be worse this year.
Perth and Kinross Council is investing £250,000 into measures which ensure the influx of visitors to Perthshire during the summer does not spoil the most popular tourist attractions this year.
This including hiring the seven new ‘visitor rangers’.
‘Love it Like You Live Here’
In preparation for the busy summer ahead, the Visitor Rangers have been hired as part of the wider ‘Love it Like You Live Here’ campaign, to encourage tourists to visit responsibly and respectfully.
The campaign will also involve the installation of temporary toilets at 11 popular tourist spots from next week.
Visitor Rangers will each have their own van branded with the ‘Love it Like You Live Here’ logo in order to be easily identifiable to visitors in need of advice on keeping the locations clean.
They will also have a supply of the council’s ‘Dig It In!’ kits which will be provided to campers who are far away from toilet facilities to ensure no trace of human waste is left behind.
In order to stop vehicles parking on narrow roads and blocking other cars from getting past, clearways have been introduced where parking tickets will be issued within clearly marked sites.
Responsible tourism
Angus Forbes, the council’s environment and infrastructure convener, said: “Last year there was, unsurprisingly, a huge number of visitors to Perth and Kinross.
“The visitor rangers programme has been funded for two years and we are sure they will help prevent anti-social behaviour. Perth and Kinross has many areas of outstanding natural beauty and we all have a duty to look after them.
“We know how important tourism is for many businesses in rural Perthshire and we are looking forward to welcoming responsible visitors back.”
A monitored email address has been set up for communities to report any issues at: visitormanagementgroup@pkc.gov.uk.
Dirty camping: Join our fight to protect Scotland’s great outdoors