Yachting/Sailing

Key Findings

All of Scotland's coasts are utilised for recreational yachting or sailing. There is a higher intensity of usage around the Clyde, the West coast, and the Moray coast. Along the East Grampian coast usage of recreational boats is of lower intensity (Fig. 1).

It is suggested that a lack of facilities along the East coast has constrained growth in demand, with opportunities for small scale expansion at Peterhead (EKOS Ltd, 2016).

As of a 2016 report, Sailing Tourism supports over 2700 FTE jobs and has an output of £130 million. Sailing tourism is on the rise - between 2009 and 2016 total output rose by 11% (EKOS Ltd, 2016). Seasonality impacts sailing/yachting, with greater demand in summer when the weather is more favourable.

Figure 1: NMPi - Density of sailing and cruising around Scotland. Taken from Marine Recreation and Tourism Survey 2015.

Notes

Linked Information Sheets

Key sources of Information

Reviewed on/by

27/01/25 by Charlotte Tomlinson

06/03/25 by Topol Mariia

10/03/25 by Charlotte Tomlinson

Status

 Live - Next update 10/03/2027

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Telephone: 07971149117

E-mail: ian.hay@stateofthecoast.scot

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