Notes

3.1 This chapter contains information on recreation activities in Scotland. It deals with sports and leisure activities and trends in tourism.

Tourism : Accommodation

3.2 Figures in table 3.1 are derived from returns made by the area Tourist Boards, councils, the private sector to the Scottish Tourist Board (STB) and the Accommodation Occupancy Survey, a sample survey conducted by System Three Scotland Ltd. The figures in table 3.2 also come from this survey. The Tourist Board areas are as follows:

Aberdeen and Grampian,

Angus & City of Dundee

Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling, & Trossachs

Ayrshire & Arran

Edinburgh & Lothians

Dumfries & Galloway

Glasgow & Clyde Valley

Highlands of Scotland

Kingdom of Fife

Orkney

Perthshire

Scottish Borders

Shetland

Western Isles

The numbers of hotels, bedrooms and bed spaces are taken from STBs database of hotels registered with the Board. As registration is voluntary, these statistics do not cover all hotels - only those which are registered.

3.3 Tables 3.3 and 3.4, chart 3.1 and map 3.1 were provided by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association (SYHA). In table 3.3 junior members are those aged under 18 and senior members are all those above that age.

Leisure and Sporting Activities

3.4 Country Parks and Regional Parks provide the focus for informal countryside recreation around Scotland's main centres of population. Most of the 36 Country Parks (table 6.4) are well established and attract annually over 14 million visitors. Visitor numbers are collated by Scottish Natural Heritage (table 3.5). The four Regional Parks in Scotland also provide opportunities for outdoor recreation and access to the wider countryside, at the same time maintaining existing land uses (table 6.5).

3.5 Table 3.6 shows statistics for visitors to gardens that are open to the public. The data is based on the visitor attractions survey undertaken each year by the Scottish Tourist Board in an attempt to determine trends in the tourism market.

3.6 Table 3.7 is derived from the Forestry Commission's Annual Report. Some changes between years are due to classification or definition changes. In addition to the facilities indicated in table 3.7, there is increasing recreation potential in the Commission's forests as they mature, and also because of improved forest design, management, and conservation practices.

3.7 The Mountaineering Council of Scotland is the national body for mountaineering in Scotland . The organisation aims to foster and promote interest in mountaineering as well as providing technical knowledge and education. Membership is open to all mountaineering clubs on payment of an annual membership fee, and there are also facilities for individual membership (table 3.9).

3.8 Tables 3.10 and 3.11 are derived from the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal that publishes details of accidents on Scottish mountains. Hypothermia is defined as core body temperature being below 35 degrees centigrade. Hyperthermia is defined as abnormally high body temperature.