Tourists are being told not to visit the Scottish Highlands during the coronavirus crisis.

Scotland’s Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop told people to stay where they are and not to add pressure to remote communities.

Judy Murray, mother of tennis stars Andy and Jamie Murray, tweeted a simple message to ‘those relocating to the countryside’ – a picture of a car and trailer with ‘Go home idiots’ and ‘Covid-19’ painted on the side.

The Road To The Isles group – an organisation that represents tourism businesses along the road between Fort William with Mallaig, also asked visitors to stay away.

The Road To The Isles group includes 100 accommodation and visitor-based businesses on the scenic route, which takes in Glenfinnan, Lochailort, Roshven, Arisaig, Morar, Mallaig and the Small Isles of Eigg, Muck, Rum, Canna and the Knoydart peninsula.

The rural area has an older population, who are more at risk, but just one doctor and ambulance to cover it.

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The nearest hospital is 100 miles away and the Road To The Isles group warned that the area is already struggling to cope with demand and visitors will add more pressure.

Sine MacKellaig-Davis, chairwoman of Road To The Isles Marketing Group, said: ‘Road To The Isles at this time would normally be marking the opening of the season, coming out of hibernation and preparing to welcome valued visitors from around the country.

‘However, Covid-19 has changed all our lives as we know it. We now face a difficult road ahead and have a social responsibility to protect our communities.’

She added that people should stay home but they would be welcomed back as soon as it is safe.

She said: ‘Right now, we need to protect all the people that make the Road to the Isles such a unique and special place.’

She told BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland that people heading to the Highlands in campervans or to stay in holiday homes could be putting local communities ‘at risk’.

With UK and Scottish Governments debating emergency legislation to help next week, she stressed that for now, they need people to use their common sense.

Scotland Office Minister Douglas Ross added: ‘Stay at home, don’t risk yourself and others by going to more remote parts of the country where the NHS will be under pressure, the local shops will be under pressure.’

‘We shouldn’t need to enforce this, but when this Bill is debated in Parliament the powers will be coming to the Scottish Parliament to deal with this if we have to.’

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