North Ayrshire Council has embraced the tremendous potential of marine tourism to contribute to the growth of their coastal and island economies, to support regeneration, education, jobs and to support the development of North Ayrshire as a leading tourism destination Marine activities and marine tourism is at the heart of their ‘Making Waves Tourism Action Plan’ and played a fundamental role in their Ayrshire Growth Deal funding application.
The application was highly successful and in early 2019 funding of £200m was announced for Ayrshire. Within the funding package The Scottish Government will invest up to £9.5 million in marine tourism over a number of years, delivering critical infrastructure to enable investment to secure the development of the marine tourism industry in North Ayrshire. This investment will focus on securing infrastructure that supports key components such as sailing and boating,marine leisure, and recreation.