Your Voice: Shaping the Future of the North Coast 500

Businesses Survey

NC500 Ltd’s mission is to promote the North Highlands and foster sustainable regional growth. While the organisation is proud of the economic benefits generated, it acknowledges the valid concerns surrounding the effects of increased visitor numbers on local communities and the environment. Addressing these issues is critical to the long-term success of the route and its local communities.

To guide future development, NC500 Ltd has commissioned BiGGAR Economics to create an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework. This framework, which measures an organisation’s holistic impact on the environment, communities, the economy, and corporate accountability, will evaluate the NC500 Ltd’s sustainability and ethical footprint. It is imperative that this framework is co-developed with input from those who own or run a business located along the route. Your input is therefore highly valued, and we would be grateful if you could please complete this short survey. Please note that responses must be submitted by midnight on the 23rd of December 2025.

We want to reassure you that your privacy is protected: we will not ask for any personal information that could identify you or your business, and all data provided will be aggregated and analysed alongside findings from our separate surveys for residents and visitors. Thank you in advance for your input.

Introductory Questions

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* 1. Which area best describes where you operate your business/s?

Caithness

North West Sutherland

South & East Sutherland

Wester Ross

Easter Ross/Black Isle

Inverness-shire

Somewhere else (please specify)

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* 2. Please indicate the nature of your business from the following:

Retail

Accommodation

Cafe

Restaurant

Visitor Attraction

Activities

Other

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* 3. Please indicate which of the following apply to your business:

My business is a business member of NC500.

My business is a corporate sponsor of NC500.

My business is not a business member or corporate sponsor of any organisation.

My business is a member or corporate sponsor of another organisation (please specify).

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* 4. How long has your business been operating?

Less than 1 Year

1 – 3 Years

3 – 5 Years

5 – 10 Years

More than 10 Years

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* 5. Please select the option which most closely aligns with your business.

We operate throughout the year, with the same staff complement.

We operate throughout the year, and employ additional staff during busy periods.

We operate only during peak season.

Other (please specify)

Sustainable Tourism Outcomes

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* 6. Sustainable tourism is the management of visitor activity to take full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts. Sustainable tourism can be defined by the long-term positive outcomes it helps to achieve.

Please rank the following sustainable tourism outcomes in order of importance to you, from top (most important) to bottom (least important).

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* 7. Are there any other sustainable tourism outcomes that you would like to see associated with the NC500? If so, please specify in the box below.

Economic Prosperity

We want to reassure you that in completing this section we will not ask for any personal information and when reporting our findings all information will be aggregated.

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* 8. Since your business started operating, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Not Important to Extremely Important), how important have the visitors using the NC500 route been in the growth of your business?

1 – Not Important

2 – Slightly Important

3 – Important

4 – Fairly Important

5 - Extremely Important

1 – Not Important

2 – Slightly Important

3 – Important

4 – Fairly Important

5 - Extremely Important

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* 9. Roughly, what was the turnover of your business in 2025?

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* 10. How would you describe the growth of your business over the past few years?

Contracting (business turnover has fallen)

Static (on average, our turnover has not changed much)

Slow growth (on average, our turnover has grown by less than 10% each year)

Modest growth (on average, our turnover has grown by 10-25% each year)

Strong growth (on average, our turnover has grown by more than 25% each year)

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* 11. How many people were employed by the business in 2025 (please include yourself and any family members who work for the business)?

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* 12. How many people were employed by the business 2 or 3 years ago (please include yourself and any family members who worked for the business)?

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* 13. Do you find it difficult to recruit for your business as a result of socio-economic challenges facing the area (eg. lack of housing, accessibility issues)?

Yes

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* 14. Roughly, how many customers does your business see per year?

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* 15. Approximately, what proportion of your customers are visitors travelling the NC500 route?

0 – 20%

21 – 40%

41 – 60%

61 – 80%

81 – 100%

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* 16. Please indicate whether you have noticed an increase, a decrease, or no change, in the following types of visitors your business has received over the last few years.

	Increase	Decrease	No Change
Overseas Visitors	Overseas Visitors Increase	Overseas Visitors Decrease	Overseas Visitors No Change
Domestic Visitors	Domestic Visitors Increase	Domestic Visitors Decrease	Domestic Visitors No Change
Bikers	Bikers Increase	Bikers Decrease	Bikers No Change
Cyclists	Cyclists Increase	Cyclists Decrease	Cyclists No Change
Campers	Campers Increase	Campers Decrease	Campers No Change
Campervans	Campervans Increase	Campervans Decrease	Campervans No Change

Adequate Infrastructure

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* 17. Do you provide public waste bins or toilet facilities for non-customers?

Yes

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* 18. Is the waste and recycling collection service accessed by your business adequate to handle the waste during your busiest period?

Yes

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* 19. Do you provide adequate parking to manage demand for customers (eg. customers are not required to park on verges etc)?

Yes

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* 20. How frequently do you experience difficulties in the following areas as a result of increased visitor traffic and congestion during peak season when the NC500 is busiest (April – September?)

	1 – Never	2 – Rarely	3 – Sometimes	4 – Often	5 – Daily
Difficulty receiving deliveries or managing logistics.	Difficulty receiving deliveries or managing logistics. 1 – Never	Difficulty receiving deliveries or managing logistics. 2 – Rarely	Difficulty receiving deliveries or managing logistics. 3 – Sometimes	Difficulty receiving deliveries or managing logistics. 4 – Often	Difficulty receiving deliveries or managing logistics. 5 – Daily
Employees face significant difficulties commuting to work.	Employees face significant difficulties commuting to work. 1 – Never	Employees face significant difficulties commuting to work. 2 – Rarely	Employees face significant difficulties commuting to work. 3 – Sometimes	Employees face significant difficulties commuting to work. 4 – Often	Employees face significant difficulties commuting to work. 5 – Daily

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* 21. Please provide examples of these difficulties.

Carbon-neutral Tourism

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* 22. On a scale of 1 to 5 (Never to Always), how frequently do you require additional deliveries to accommodate increased demand during peak season?

1 – Never

2 – Rarely

3 – Sometimes

4 – Often

5 – Always

1 – Never

2 – Rarely

3 – Sometimes

4 – Often

5 – Always

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* 23. Do you offer incentives or infrastructure to encourage customers to use low-emission transport (eg. charging stations, bike racks)

Yes

Equitable Distribution of Tourism Benefits

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* 24. What proportion of your staff are permanent residents of the local area?

0 – 25%

26 – 50%

51 – 75%

76 – 100%

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* 25. Roughly, what proportion of your supply chain expenditure is procured from suppliers based in Highland?

0 – 25%

26 – 50%

51 – 75%

76 – 100%

'Leave No Trace'/No Waste

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* 26. On a scale of 1-5 (Never to Daily), how frequently do you observe the following waste close to your business during the peak tourism season (April - September)?

	1 – Never	2 – Rarely	3 – Sometimes	4 – Often	5 – Daily
Litter	Litter 1 – Never	Litter 2 – Rarely	Litter 3 – Sometimes	Litter 4 – Often	Litter 5 – Daily
Human or Chemical Waste	Human or Chemical Waste 1 – Never	Human or Chemical Waste 2 – Rarely	Human or Chemical Waste 3 – Sometimes	Human or Chemical Waste 4 – Often	Human or Chemical Waste 5 – Daily

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* 27. Do you observe the following waste close to your business less frequently during months where there is less tourism (October - March)

	Yes	No
Litter	Litter Yes	Litter No
Human or Chemical Waste	Human or Chemical Waste Yes	Human or Chemical Waste No

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* 28. Please provide examples of littering, toileting and/or improper disposal of human or chemical waste close to your business that you have observed.

A Flourishing Environment

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* 29. Do you provide any awareness or education to customers about local wildlife or sensitive habitats (eg. leaflets, posters, verbal)?

Yes

Responsible Behaviour

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* 30. Do you provide any awareness or promote the following (eg. leaflets, posters, verbal) through your business?

	Yes	No
Responsible Behaviour	Responsible Behaviour Yes	Responsible Behaviour No
NC500 Visitor Pledge	NC500 Visitor Pledge Yes	NC500 Visitor Pledge No

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* 31. On a scale of 1 to 5 (Never to Daily), how frequently do you observe the following behaviours during the busy season (April - September) associated with people using the NC500 route?

	1 – Never	2 – Rarely	3 – Sometimes	4 – Often	5 – Daily
Disturbance to your business from vehicles and people.	Disturbance to your business from vehicles and people. 1 – Never	Disturbance to your business from vehicles and people. 2 – Rarely	Disturbance to your business from vehicles and people. 3 – Sometimes	Disturbance to your business from vehicles and people. 4 – Often	Disturbance to your business from vehicles and people. 5 – Daily
Irresponsible driving (eg. speeding vehicles, slow-moving vehicles/vehicles not using passing places).	Irresponsible driving (eg. speeding vehicles, slow-moving vehicles/vehicles not using passing places). 1 – Never	Irresponsible driving (eg. speeding vehicles, slow-moving vehicles/vehicles not using passing places). 2 – Rarely	Irresponsible driving (eg. speeding vehicles, slow-moving vehicles/vehicles not using passing places). 3 – Sometimes	Irresponsible driving (eg. speeding vehicles, slow-moving vehicles/vehicles not using passing places). 4 – Often	Irresponsible driving (eg. speeding vehicles, slow-moving vehicles/vehicles not using passing places). 5 – Daily
Activity that could lead to a wildfire.	Activity that could lead to a wildfire. 1 – Never	Activity that could lead to a wildfire. 2 – Rarely	Activity that could lead to a wildfire. 3 – Sometimes	Activity that could lead to a wildfire. 4 – Often	Activity that could lead to a wildfire. 5 – Daily
Other forms of anti-social behaviour.	Other forms of anti-social behaviour. 1 – Never	Other forms of anti-social behaviour. 2 – Rarely	Other forms of anti-social behaviour. 3 – Sometimes	Other forms of anti-social behaviour. 4 – Often	Other forms of anti-social behaviour. 5 – Daily

Thriving Places

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* 32. On a scale of 1 to 5 (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree), please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements.

	1 - Strongly Disagree	2 - Disagree	3 - Neither agree nor disagree	4 - Agree	5 - Strongly Agree
"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to open for longer hours."	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to open for longer hours." 1 - Strongly Disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to open for longer hours." 2 - Disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to open for longer hours." 3 - Neither agree nor disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to open for longer hours." 4 - Agree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to open for longer hours." 5 - Strongly Agree
"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to operate over a longer period of the year."	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to operate over a longer period of the year." 1 - Strongly Disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to operate over a longer period of the year." 2 - Disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to operate over a longer period of the year." 3 - Neither agree nor disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to operate over a longer period of the year." 4 - Agree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to operate over a longer period of the year." 5 - Strongly Agree
"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to offer a wider range of goods and services than it otherwise would."	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to offer a wider range of goods and services than it otherwise would." 1 - Strongly Disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to offer a wider range of goods and services than it otherwise would." 2 - Disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to offer a wider range of goods and services than it otherwise would." 3 - Neither agree nor disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to offer a wider range of goods and services than it otherwise would." 4 - Agree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 enables my business to offer a wider range of goods and services than it otherwise would." 5 - Strongly Agree
"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 has enabled my business to employ more staff."	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 has enabled my business to employ more staff." 1 - Strongly Disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 has enabled my business to employ more staff." 2 - Disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 has enabled my business to employ more staff." 3 - Neither agree nor disagree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 has enabled my business to employ more staff." 4 - Agree	"The presence of tourists visiting the NC500 has enabled my business to employ more staff." 5 - Strongly Agree

Engaged Communities

Officially launched in 2015, the organisation “NC500 Ltd” is the official body behind the North Coast 500 route and was created to promote business growth in the North Highlands.

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* 33. On a scale of 1 to 5 (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree), please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements.

	1 – Strongly Disagree	2 – Disagree	3 – Neither agree nor disagree	4 – Agree	5 – Strongly Agree
“I trust the NC500 Ltd leadership team to act in the best interests of the local area."	“I trust the NC500 Ltd leadership team to act in the best interests of the local area." 1 – Strongly Disagree	“I trust the NC500 Ltd leadership team to act in the best interests of the local area." 2 – Disagree	“I trust the NC500 Ltd leadership team to act in the best interests of the local area." 3 – Neither agree nor disagree	“I trust the NC500 Ltd leadership team to act in the best interests of the local area." 4 – Agree	“I trust the NC500 Ltd leadership team to act in the best interests of the local area." 5 – Strongly Agree
"I believe the NC500 Ltd leadership consider the views of local people when making decisions."	"I believe the NC500 Ltd leadership consider the views of local people when making decisions." 1 – Strongly Disagree	"I believe the NC500 Ltd leadership consider the views of local people when making decisions." 2 – Disagree	"I believe the NC500 Ltd leadership consider the views of local people when making decisions." 3 – Neither agree nor disagree	"I believe the NC500 Ltd leadership consider the views of local people when making decisions." 4 – Agree	"I believe the NC500 Ltd leadership consider the views of local people when making decisions." 5 – Strongly Agree
"If I had a concern about how the NC500 Ltd was operating, I would know how to raise this with them."	"If I had a concern about how the NC500 Ltd was operating, I would know how to raise this with them." 1 – Strongly Disagree	"If I had a concern about how the NC500 Ltd was operating, I would know how to raise this with them." 2 – Disagree	"If I had a concern about how the NC500 Ltd was operating, I would know how to raise this with them." 3 – Neither agree nor disagree	"If I had a concern about how the NC500 Ltd was operating, I would know how to raise this with them." 4 – Agree	"If I had a concern about how the NC500 Ltd was operating, I would know how to raise this with them." 5 – Strongly Agree
“I believe the interests of local businesses are adequately represented on the NC500 Ltd board."	“I believe the interests of local businesses are adequately represented on the NC500 Ltd board." 1 – Strongly Disagree	“I believe the interests of local businesses are adequately represented on the NC500 Ltd board." 2 – Disagree	“I believe the interests of local businesses are adequately represented on the NC500 Ltd board." 3 – Neither agree nor disagree	“I believe the interests of local businesses are adequately represented on the NC500 Ltd board." 4 – Agree	“I believe the interests of local businesses are adequately represented on the NC500 Ltd board." 5 – Strongly Agree

Closing Question

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* 34. Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

Many thanks for participating in this study. Your input is highly valued.