Hoteliers in website demand to minister

Published on Sunday 18 November 2007 00:52

SCOTTISH hoteliers want a parliamentary debate on their demands to bring the tourism website VisitScotland.com under public control.

The Association of Dumfries & Galloway Accommodation Providers wants Tourism Minister Jim Mather to re-open an enquiry into the issue by Parliament's Public Petitions Committee which, it says, was "summarily" dismissed without proper discussion.

Alan Keith, chairman of the association, said: "There was a lot of evidence on our side. I would have thought it was their duty to discuss it. How could they possibly come to any conclusion with a lack of discussion?"

Keith said he had tried to raise the committee's actions with Parliament's Presiding Officer, Alex Ferguson, and the Parliamentary Standards and Procedures Committee but had been told it is not within their remit to intervene. He now feels he has no choice but to raise the issue with the minister.

A spokeswoman for the Public Petitions Committee said it considered the association's arguments when they were first raised in 2006.

She said:

"[Keith] can be reassured that the committee's decision was taken following a year of careful and extensive consideration."

VisitScotland.com was set up through a public-private partnership in 2003 with a public sector start-up fund of 1.85m. The national tourist board, VisitScotland, continues to hold a 36% share in the site but it is run by a private company, eTourism Ltd.