BTB site 'could confuse visitors'

Published on Friday 3 August 2007 00:47

A NEW tourism website for the Borders region, which claims to have attracted 4,000 visitors in its first month of operation, has been warned by its local council that it risks "confusing" potential visitors.

The website, www.borderstouristboard.com, which is run by a group of tourism businesses registered as the Borders Tourist Board (BTB), is part of a growing trend of regional tourism sites working independently of the national tourism agency, VisitScotland.

Although the BTB is not seeking financial assistance from the local authority, Marion Oates, economic development officer for Scottish Borders Council, said the council was withholding support for the BTB until it produced a business plan.

"We are happy to discuss anything that is going to improve tourism in the Borders in line with the national and local strategies," he said.

"The BTB is primarily a marketing group, and if it is looking to approach customers it could be deemed as confusing. They might like to consider that, but it is entirely up to them."

The BTB was launched in June "aimed at promoting our businesses to visitors to the Borders".

Jeff Slater, the site's vice-chairman, said: "We are dissatisfied with the services provided by Visitscotland and particularly Visitscotland.com."

"Only a few years ago we would have been members of the Scottish Borders Tourist Board - now we are treated as an income source and nothing else by Visitscotland and its commercial partner, Visitscotland.com."

We are not alone in this view, there being similar groups in operation in Dumfries & Galloway, Angus, Braemar, Aviemore, Caithness & Sutherland and Orkney."

Graham Bell, a Borders-based business analyst who also acts as a spokesman for Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "I think the website is great. It has good local detail and it does what it says on the label."

A spokeswoman for VisitScotland.com said it had "no immediate plans" to link to the site.

"We will always engage with any respectable organisation promoting Scotland in a way which benefits the visitor and does not infringe on our commercial interests."