Scottish caravan park may be forced to change name over 'negative' Trump association

Turnberry Holiday Park 'concerned that customers are put off due to the Trump effect'

Donald Trump golfs at his Turnberry resort (Getty Images)

A caravan park in Scotland is considering changing its name due to “negative” associations with Donald Trump.

The owners of Turnberry Holiday Park in South Ayshire fear customers are being put off because they assume it is linked with the US president’s nearby luxury golf resort.

The two are unconnected but each is named after the tiny coastal village where they are based.

The caravan park said it had canvassed the opinions of more than 1,000 people and found 32 per cent were less likely to visit the site because of its name.

Mr Trump bought the nearby Turnberry golf resort in 2014. Despite a £200m refurbishment, it has run up four successive years of multi-million-pound losses.

His visits to the resort have been met with protests, including from a paraglider who flew close to the president in July to demonstrate against the president's environmental policies.

Andrew Howe, chief executive of Bridge Leisure Parks, which owns the caravan park, said: “We have worked hard to make Turnberry a wonderful holiday park and are concerned that customers are put off due to the Trump effect.

“We’re proud of our historic association with Turnberry, but we are considering a new name that highlights the positive aspects of this wonderful part of the world.”

He added: “There’s no doubt there’s a negative element because of the Donald.

“We did a bit of a survey where we asked would it put them off and definitely a reasonable response was it had.

“It’s a competitive marketplace – we’re worrying about doing anything which might put people off.”

The park has experienced an increase in enquiries from people asking if it is linked to Mr Trump, said Mr Howe.

The company was likely to reach a decision on whether to change its within the next couple of weeks, he added.

Mr Trump resigned as director of Turnberry golf resort after becoming US president in January 2017.

His daughter Ivanka, who he hired as a White House adviser, also stepped down, but his sons Eric and Donald Jnr remain in their positions.

The resort has lost £33m since Mr Trump took over four years ago.

Last week it posted new losses of £3.5m, but Eric Trump said the business was recovering after a six-month closure for a revamp.

It emerged last month that the Scottish government had withdrawn tax relief for the resort, one of two Mr Trump owns in Scotland.

It has also been dropped from the latest edition of a Scottish guidebook due to the president’s “divisive and dangerous” politics.

Visitors who do decide to visit Trump Turnberry pay up to £479 a night for two people.

For those on a less lavish budget, Turnberry Holiday Park offers three nights in a whole caravan – big enough to sleep six – for £210.