Tourist industry 'missing out on Homecoming benefit'

Published on Tuesday 3 March 2009 20:44

THE tourism industry has yet to see the benefit of the high-profile Scottish Government-backed homecoming campaign, the head of one of Scotland's landmark hotels has warned.

Stephen Leckie, managing director of the Crieff Hydro Hotel in Perthshire, has revealed that his business had not yet benefited from the year-long festival aimed at bringing Scots descendents back to the motherland.

And Leckie claimed that none of the businesses with which he had been in contact had reported any benefits from the multi-million pound Homecoming campaign.

While praising Homecoming as a "good marketing idea" that was "well worth a try", Leckie said he was sceptical that the programme would bring in extra revenue this year.

Leckie told The Scotsman: "I think it's a lovely idea but are lots of foreign people going to come rushing into Scotland this year because it's Homecoming? Frankly, no, I can't see it.

"The marketing concept is a good one, let's try it and get Scotland on the map. But, tangibly, is it going to work?

"We haven't experienced it here and I've not spoken to anyone who has specifically experienced it, despite our best shot at advertising."

Leckie praised the work done by VisitScotland, the national tourism board, but said that he believed that the organisation was under-funded.

Instead of the focus on bringing in visitors from overseas, Leckie made the case for more emphasis on the home market.

He added: "This year especially, with so many people staying in Britain, it makes sense to put more money into VisitScotland to market Scotland for domestic tourism.

"It's a no-brainer for me. The money spent has ramifications in Scotland – the more domestic tourists we can get then the better off Scotland will be."

Philip Riddle, VisitScotland's chief executive, said: "Homecoming is set to bring 40 million in additional tourism revenue and 100,000 visitors to Scotland and there is a great opportunity for tourism businesses to tap into this.

"The launch weekend in January was a great success, with tourism businesses in Dumfries & Galloway and Ayrshire reporting increased visitors.

"But clearly it is up to individual businesses how they chose to make Homecoming work for them. These campaigns are reaching millions of potential visitors, and early indications are that this is paying off."