Tourism body warns SNP not to 'tear up' growth strategy

Published on Thursday 8 February 2007 00:08

THE SNP's vision for tourism in Scotland, to disband the national tourism body VisitScotland and amalgamate it within a planned enterprise agency, have been dismissed by Alan Rankin, the head of the industry's representative body, the Scottish Tourism Forum.

In what will be seen as a shot across the bows of the pro-independence party, Rankin warned the party not to "tear up" the existing strategy for growing Scottish tourism through structural overhauls and budget cuts if, as some polls predict, the party is elected to lead a new Scottish Executive in May.

The SNP has pledged to "evolve" the tourism infrastructure, removing the independence of the existing tourism promoting agency VisitScotland, renaming it "Welcome to Scotland" and amalgamating it within a "reinvigorated" enterprise body.

The purpose would be to avoid duplication and to facilitate what SNP tourism spokesman Fergus Ewing has called "savings on to the public purse", i.e. budget cuts.

But the plans were criticised yesterday by the Scottish Tourism Forum, an independent body whose members include private sector businesses and public sector bodies. Rankin said: "We would not support the disbanding of VisitScotland. Scotland needs a strong, well-financed, well-resourced marketing agency.

"There is a complete separation between the tourism marketing agenda, which rests with VisitScotland, and the skills agenda, which rests with the enterprise bodies."

According to the SNP's policy document Let Scotland Flourish, published last year with a foreword by Alex Salmond, under an SNP-led Executive tourism promotion would become one functional strand of a three-part super-agency. The "Welcome to Scotland" division would sit alongside the inward investment arm "Locate in Scotland" and its trade-promoting body "Export from Scotland".

The new tourism structure, the document says, "would acknowledge Scottish tourism as the major industry and employer that it is, linking tourism directly with economic development. It would build on the strengths of VisitScotland, deliver a lighter regulatory touch and stronger marketing role, and bring under one roof responsibility for growing Scotland's tourism sector.

"Tourism requires a comprehensive strategy and global marketing combined with local delivery that is closely associated with the mainstream of economic development. Welcome to Scotland would decentralise tourism information and services so that we can better connect areas with their visitors."

Talking to The Scotsman yesterday, Ewing said an SNP victory would bring an automatic tourism dividend to Scotland. "The eyes of the world would be on Scotland and people will be keen to see the exciting things going on here."

He praised VisitScotland's marketing of weekend breaks and niche activities such as golf, but said a grassroots discontent with the web booking service VisitScotland.com was a "running sore" and said small businesses "are feeling that their voice is not being heard. The vacuum left by the disbanding of the area tourist boards has not been filled."

Ewing said amalgamating VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and the local enterprise companies would "simplify and slim down" Scotland's "quagmire of quangos" creating a "one-stop shop" for tourism. He praised the promotion of Destination Management Organisations, such as the one launched last year in Aviemore, saying it was "a successful model of direct, business-led marketing."

He declined to detail the implications for jobs and budgets of the proposed rationalisation, saying: "There will be savings to the public purse."

But Rankin added: "There is some debate to be had about where such programmes as Quality Assurance should sit with VisitScotland, or whether it could be sub-contracted, allowing VisitScotland to focus on promotion of Scotland.

"But if tourism businesses feel they have lost their voice, there is ability through trade association and local marketing groups, that are springing up and down the country. Local collaboration is the flavour of the time. Some is very effective, with support from VisitScotland which matches funding to support local collaboration.

"A lot of effort has gone into the Tourism Framework For Change strategy. We do not want to see that being torn up by a new government."

A spokeswoman for VisitScotland declined to comment directly on the SNP's plans, but said: "People are being bombarded with messages from all over the world. We need to keep on with high and growing levels of marketing expenditure if we are to maintain existing levels of growth".