Two Years On - And Business Is Booming

Local producers at opposite corners of the route share their exciting success stories with Katrina Patrick…

THE North Coast 500 campaign has certainly increased the number of people heading north to tackle the route by all sorts of transport. Visit Scotland confirmed last year that the number of enquiries at information centres along the route had gone up by a third, but what effect has this had on businesses and the economy of the area? Are these extra visitors spending time exploring villages and attractions, or are they merely stopping for photos and coffee?

We spoke to two independent businesses to find out the impact that “Scotland’s answer to Route 66” has had on their trade.

Martin Murray runs Dunnet Bay Distillers in the far corner of Caithness with his wife Claire and an intrepid team of production wizards. They began selling the now award-winning Rock Rose gin in 2014, and when the North Coast 500 campaign was launched in 2015, it knocked their sales estimates out of the park!

“I go back to our initial business plan, and remember thinking it was impossible to sell at the distillery because nobody came by,” Martin told us. “Since the route, we put in a stretch target and now that whole year’s worth of sales, we’ll sell in one month!”

The team are about to sign a contract to build a visitor centre and shop – something they’d never have dreamed of a couple of years ago.