Pressures on marine tourism 

Marine and coastal tourism is an important part of the visitor economy in the Aberdeenshire and East Grampian region, with tourism overall worth an estimated £1.27 billion in 2024, reflecting a 2% increase on 2023 and sustained growth after the COVID-19 pandemic downturn. During 2024, the region attracted around 3.7 million overnight visitors and 2.59 million day visitors, with 11,400 full-time equivalent jobs supported directly by tourism across Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire, an increase of 1.5% on the previous year (Figure 1). These figures demonstrate the scale of tourism demand in coastal communities that rely heavily on natural attractions like beaches, harbours and coastal activities that are integral to marine tourism experiences (VisitAberdeenshire, 2024).

Marine and coastal tourism also contributes to employment and business activity tied directly to maritime offerings such as boat trips, wildlife watching, sailing, and harbour visits. At the Port of Aberdeen, cruise tourism is a growing component of the marine leisure sector, with recent data showing that up to 70 cruise ships and approximately 48,000 passengers visited in a recent season underlining the potential scale of maritime tourism activity in the region. Such activity helps support hospitality, transport, and retail sectors, and the port’s expanded facilities boost local capacity to host larger vessels and associated visitors (Port of Aberdeen, 2025).

However, this tourism growth also creates pressures on infrastructure, the environment, and community services in coastal areas. Aberdeenshire Council’s Strategic Tourism Infrastructure Development Plan identifies increased pressure on tourism infrastructure at key coastal destinations, noting that the rise in outdoor recreational activity and visitor numbers has strained car parks, signage, coastal paths, and local services. There is ongoing effort to align tourism growth with sustainable infrastructure investments such as improved access, visitor facilities, and wayfinding, to ensure that local attractions remain attractive without negative impacts on communities or environmentally sensitive coastal landscape (Aberdeenshire STIDP, 2023).