Associate feature: Growing the Visitor Economy Together

As a destination, Scotland punches above its weight in a very competitive marketplace and delivers world class events which are the envy of many. However, we can’t rest on our laurels.

VisitScotland’s core purpose as an economic growth agency is to drive the visitor economy, growing its value in Scotland. To do that we are using our insights to focus on activities that will drive incremental economic activity and an immediate return on investment. In my new role as Chief Executive of VisitScotland, I’m committed to building on strong foundations, based on continued collaboration with industry, partners and wider stakeholders. 

We need to continue to evolve what we do and how we work, adapting to the changing landscape to ensure we continue to drive the visitor economy.

Our activity spans four core priorities – place development, business development, event development and market development. We’re helping businesses to tap into changing travel trends, capitalise on local investment projects and sector strengths and adapt their offer to reach new audiences and markets.

Our approach to guide growth includes events such as VisitScotland Connect, our flagship travel trade event at which in 2024, 222 businesses and 257 travel trade organisations from over 20 countries met to network and generate future business. We also run a business support programme, including our upcoming digital hub, and help develop an exciting portfolio of events that provide world-leading authentic experiences for locals and visitors, through our funding programmes and support for the industry.

There is an opportunity for us to work even closer with our destination and sector partners to ensure VisitScotland is tailoring our support to the unique opportunities and challenges faced by each. This includes helping businesses consider their journey to net zero. The fiscal challenges that both businesses and the public sector are facing means that we need to pull together to use our collective resources.

We have experienced good growth from a number of key international markets and it’s my priority that we continue all the significant work we do to keep Scotland front of mind in the markets that are important to us today driving bookings that will provide a return in year. This includes developing partnerships that help us to spread visitor spend across Scotland and across the year.  

I also want to ensure that we grow awareness of Scotland in markets that have the potential to be important in the medium and long-term; markets where we are seeing a growth in outbound travel. We also recognise the important impact we have on the growth of other sectors of the Scottish economy including food and drink and creative industries, providing platforms that showcase Scottish product and talent internationally. 

We recognise there is a careful balance to strike between the benefits tourism brings to Scotland and ensuring communities feel comfortable and capable of welcoming visitors. Our focus is on growing the value of tourism rather than volume of visitors.  This means promoting Scotland as a year-round destination, inspiring visitors to visit at different times of the year or areas with capacity.

We do this by working with local partners such as destination management organisations, event organisers and local authorities to understand the impacts and opportunities in communities and that is then reflected in our activity.  We work with national partners as part of visitor management working group to help provide a coordinated response to key issues facing destinations and promote responsible behaviours. 

Tourism is one of Scotland’s most important industries. Investing in and harnessing Scotland’s unique offerings is at the heart of our work to grow the value of the visitor economy. However, we can’t do this on our own.  When we come together, tourism and events can be a real force for good.

This article is sponsored by VisitScotland.

www.visitscotland.org