It has been described as a motoring odyssey to rival only the likes of America’s iconic Route 66.
With sweeping roads and stunning scenery, the North Coast 500 has become known worldwide as one of Scotland’s best driving routes.
Not only that, it has become a road paved with gold for the tourism business, bringing some £9 million into the economy in added revenue last year. Officially launched in 2015, the 516-mile circuit was created by Prince Charles’ North Highland Initiative to boost tourism in the north Highlands and generate economic opportunities for the area.
Despite the roads having been in place for decades or longer, what would have once been a driving holiday in the Highlands has been reinvented as rival to America’s iconic route 66 which traverses across multiple states.
Starting and ending in Inverness, the petrolhead’s paradise takes in sights such as the Queen Mother’s residence at the Castle of Mey in Caithness. The success story is spreading too, with a privately backed venture now offering a slightly shorter but no less romantic getaway behind the wheel.
The North East 250 takes in all the glory of Aberdeenshire and Moray, from the picturesque tranquillity of Royal Deeside to some of the best castles, mountains, distilleries and golf courses that the country has to offer. It was directly inspired by the NC500 and route champion Guy Macpherson-Grant, owner of Ballindalloch Castle, hopes to recreate a similar success story.
The ambition of the project has already been supported by firms including Chivas Brothers and Aberdeen International Airport.
Mr Macpherson-Grant, believes the scheme will ultimately encourage more people to visit Scotland and experience “everything it has to offer”. “I am excited by the potential of the North East 250 to bring more visitors to our area and experience, what I believe, is the very best Scotland has to offer. We need businesses along the route to really get behind it,” he said.
Tourism body Visit Aberdeenshire is also behind the move. It believes it could be a key component to helping the industry reach its target of becoming a £1 billion sector by 2023, something its neighbours in the Highlands reached last year. In November it was announced the sector in the north had grown by a third in just four years, a feat which cannot be unattributed to the now famous driving route.
A report which was put before councillors revealed direct expenditure by visitors reached a staggering £965m 2016 – and also suggested implementing a controversial tourism tax to meet the costs on pressures on infrastructure, like the well used roads.
It showed there was an additional £226m spent on indirect expenditure by the tourism industry in purchasing goods and services, making the total economic impact in the region £1.2bn.
The report also said the industry is now supporting more than 24,000 jobs in the region.
Stuart Black, the council’s director of development and infrastructure, said: “Sustainable tourism is one of Scotland’s key growth sectors identified in the Scottish Government’s economic strategy and is the Highlands’ most important industry, generating significant economic benefits for the area.
“Tourism has seen a period of sustained growth with the overall economic impact of tourism growing by 34% over the period 2012 to 2016 – from £913m in 2012 to £1.2bn in 2016.”
This has seen tourist numbers rise from 5.1 million in 2012 to 6.1 million in 2016, an increase of 18%.
Mr Black added: “Early indications are that growth has continued and that 2017 was another exceptionally successful year. The number of visits to visitor attractions has seen numbers increase by 8.7% for the period January to September 2017 – double the rate of increase of 4.3% seen in the rest of Scotland.”
In addition to providing economic benefits, Mr Black said tourism also brings a range of wider perks to the Highlands and many of its communities, supporting a range of local services that would not otherwise be economically viable, such as shops, public transport routes and leisure facilities.
But Mr Black added: “While the benefits are clearly to be welcomed, the current levels of tourism, particularly in certain ‘honeypot’ locations, have caused issues with the most notable examples relating to pressure on infrastructure. In part this can be attributed to new developments or marketing initiatives, perhaps most notably the North Coast 500 where its popularity has exceeded all expectations. In some areas growth has been brought about by changing visitor behaviour which in itself has been driven by new technologies and platforms such as social media.
“This can focus visits on key sites which get high ratings from visitors such as Chanonry Point. Another good example of this are the Fairy Pools which are consistently ranked as one of the top places to visit on Skye and which saw visits increase by 54% between 2014 and 2016.”
As a result of the route’s success Visit Aberdeenshire is keen to capitalise on its success by marketing its sister route NE250.
Yvonne Cook, head of tourism development at the organisation, said: “There is a marked trend throughout Europe for touring routes, and the north-east has the infrastructure to respond to this growing interest thanks to a vast array of amazing visitor experiences and stunning scenic driving routes.
“The North East 250 and the Snow Roads are two recent examples of new driving route initiatives which give exposure to great visitor experiences and attractions in Aberdeenshire.”
When the idea for the new driving route was first mooted Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop hailed the “great potential” of the plans, but she said it was “very important that all of the north-east can benefit” from the proposed “North East 250” attraction. While the route takes visitors through some of the region’s finest sights including Speyside, the Cairngorms, Royal Deeside, Aberdeen, the east coast and Moray, the experience misses out some jewels in the Aberdeenshire crown such as Stonehaven and Dunnottar Castle.
Ms Hyslop said: “The North East 250 is a privately developed route that has the potential to encourage visitors to experience the wonderful scenery, rich culture and numerous attractions that the north-east has to offer, from coastal villages in Banff and Buchan and the distilleries of Speyside and Royal Deeside to the vibrant city of Aberdeen.
“If it is anything like the North Coast 500, there is great potential to maximise its economic impact, but it is very important that all of the north-east can benefit from it.”