DANIEL JOHNSON MSP visited a major holiday park in his Edinburgh South constituency this month (23 July) to take the temperature of this summer’s tourism season.
He was welcomed to Mortonhall Holiday Park by Henry Trotter and his wife Catherine of Mortonhall who told Mr Johnson that the park was likely to be welcoming a record number of visitors this year.
Mr Johnson, whose shadow cabinet responsibilities include tourism, viewed the latest developments at Mortonhall which is based on the surrounding estate’s eighteenth-century wooded parkland.
The business is part of the family-owned Meadowhead parks group which operates four top-rated parks in southern Scotland and Northumberland.
Mortonhall is just four miles from the centre of Edinburgh and, Mr Johnson heard, is an ideal base for exploring both the surrounding countryside and the city itself.
Open all year round, Mortonhall is also a popular base for visitors and performers attending the Edinburgh Festival – and the park is again at near capacity for this year’s event.
On a tour of the grounds, the MSP saw some of the accommodation options available to guests of the park which has a top five-star quality grading from VisitScotland.
They include luxury holiday caravans, glamping accommodation such as wigwams and shepherd huts, and pitches for touring caravans, motorhomes and tents.
Mr Johnson also saw some of the many environmental initiatives taken to ensure that Mortonhall remains as welcoming to wildlife and nature as it is to its human guests.
Hundreds of native trees and shrubs have been planted in the grounds, and wildflower areas sown which provide vital foraging for butterflies, honeybees, and other pollinators.
Henry Trotter said that the park and estate are struggling to realise their quest for net-zero status, and are not yet delivering their full potential for renewable energy from new solar and battery energy storage technology.
The reasons, he said, are due to complications within the Local Development Plan, the National Planning Framework 4, and a myriad of planning issues together with high development costs.
“We were delighted that Mr Johnson was able to take time out to see how Mortonhall is helping to draw more visitors to this glorious part of Scotland,” he said.
“It was also an opportunity to discuss the opportunities and other issues which the hospitality industry in Scotland now faces, including the imposition of visitor levies.
“Mr Johnson clearly understands the importance of tourism to Scotland’s economy, and the large number of jobs it sustains – and we are grateful for his support,” added Mr Trotter.
Speaking after his visit, Daniel Johnson MSP said “It was great to visit a packed Mortonhall Holiday Park and to see first-hand the range and quality of accommodation available.
“Tourism is an engine of growth and a provider of jobs all across Scotland, so it is particularly pleasing to see a holiday park in my own constituency thriving.
“If you are thinking about visiting Edinburgh, what better place to base yourself than in the heart of South Edinburgh,” he added.
Also accompanying the visit was Sarah Allanson, Scottish director of the Holiday and Residential Parks Association (HARPA) which has around 200 Scottish parks in membership.
There is more information about Mortonhall Holiday Park, including the range of accommodation available, on its website at www.Mortonhall.co.uk