Tourists give thumbs up to wind turbines in Scotland

More than nine out of ten tourists visiting some of Scotland's most scenic landscapes say the presence of wind farms nearby does not affect their enjoyment of the area, according to a poll conducted by MORI Scotland, which conducts opinion surveys. The poll, commissioned jointly by the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) and the Scottish Renewables Forum (SRF), lays to rest claims that wind farms have an adverse effect on tourism. Some 300 visitors to Argyll on Scotland's south west coast were questioned in face to face interviews. For 83% of visitors, the scenery was the biggest attraction; 91% say wind farms make no difference to whether they would return to Argyll; 4% said they would be more likely to return because of the wind farms, and only 2% said they would be less likely, while 3% did not express an opinion. Moreover, 43% maintained that Argyll's three wind farms had a positive effect on their impression of Argyll, a further 43% were ambivalent, saying they had an equally positive and negative effect, while a mere 8% claimed they had a negative effect. As many as 80% said they would be interested in visiting a wind farm.