Lifeline fund increased to £4m

The Marine & Outdoor Tourism Restart Fund has been established to support the marine, boating and outdoor adventure sectors who have been significantly affected by COVID-19 and are faced with seasonal re-commissioning and re-start costs ahead of the 2021 season.   

The £2.5 million fund has been increased to £4m and is being delivered by VisitScotland on behalf of the Scottish Government and has been developed with Sail Scotland and Wild Scotland. 

The fund is aimed at responsible tourism operators who provide a sustainable outdoor related activity to visitors on land and in the marine environment.  This will encompass a broad span of activity types from wildlife watching to charter, day boat trips, sailing holidays, bushcraft and survival and activities such as canoeing and mountaineering.   The fund also supports operators of visitor moorings and visitor pontoons.

Due to the complexity and breadth of businesses within the sector, a two-strand approach to grant funding is necessary to meet the needs of the sector. Businesses may only apply to one strand. The two strands are:

1. Marine and boating tourism operators
2. Outdoor wildlife, adventure and activity sector tourism businesses

The grants will be paid over a range of award amounts up to a maximum of £15,000 per company and will be limited to one application per company. 

There is a fixed amount of funding available so the final amount awarded to a successful applicant will be determined once all applications are received and vetted, and will be dependent on the number of successful applications to this fund.

Applications for the fund are now open until 5pm on Tuesday 9 February. Applications must be submitted during this time period and will not be considered on a first come first basis.

Please view the fund guidelines document for submission instructions before completing the APPLICATION FORM