Do wind farms really have the potential to affect tourism?

Also from the e 'Planning' bulletin

'Scotland's planning minister has told a conference that the government is 'not obsessed with wind farms', amid criticism that the country is building too many.'  More here

'VisitScotland' has raised concerns in the press about wind farms affecting Scottish tourism.  

Extracts:

...With many of these sited in the Highlands and islands, it is feared they could damage the country’s £11 billion-a-year tourism trade.

...Wind farm developers can cash in on £400million in subsidies paid in Britain every year – huge payments which have been cut by only 10 per cent by the Scottish Government in its drive to provide 100 per cent of electricity through renewable energy by 2020.

The press article concludes:

...A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘VisitScotland’s own research backs up previous studies – the majority of tourists are not deterred by wind turbines. In fact, evidence shows that wind turbines can attract tourists.’

I would suggest that any research is now potentially out of date and/or not detailed enough and this is probably a good time to rigorously research the potential impacts upon Tourism.

Another thing we need is comparative data with respect to any subsidy paid to other energy sources.