Local promotion better prospect for tourism

Published on Monday 8 February 2010 21:40

THE national tourist agency VisitScotland is an executive non-departmental public body founded in April 2005 to take up the work done previously by local tourist boards.

In 2008-9 it received 50 million in government funding to carry out its work to promote Scotland to foreign visitors and enhance visitor attractions in the country.

Reform Scotland has highlighted the "turbulent past" of the tourism body, noting criticism that the agency was too centralised and focused on successful tourist areas to the detriment of less fashionable destinations.

It also highlighted the withdrawal of funding by Edinburgh Council and the furore over the loss-making website visitscotland.com.

The think-tank says there is a strong argument that VisitScotland should be abolished and responsibility for tourism promotion brought under the direct control of Jim Mather, the minister for energy, enterprise and tourism.

They suggest that the Scottish Government could run a small Scotland-wide tourism agency to oversee general direction and promote larger events, such as last year's Homecoming.

At the same time, the policy group maintains, many of the current tourism functions performed by the agency on a country-wide basis could be handed to local authorities – bodies that would be better placed to promote local attractions due to superior local knowledge. This would also reduce infighting among local areas that feel they are being undersold by the national agency.