Use weak pound to aid tourism says space tour boss

Published on Monday 3 November 2008 21:03

SCOTLAND must capitalise on the weaker pound to boost tourism from North America and Japan, one of Sir Richard Branson's most senior executives has urged.

Will Whitehorn, the Edinburgh-born chief executive of space tour firm Virgin Galactic, said rich Americans were showing renewed interest in visiting Scotland.

Mr Whitehorn, addressing a hospitality industry lunch in Edinburgh yesterday, said Scotland must use 2009's Year of Homecoming to highlight the favourable exchange rate for countries such as the US, Canada and Japan.

He said: "The Scottish tourist industry is very much doom and gloom at the moment, but this is a huge opportunity to target countries with the strongest currencies against the pound.

"A US high-end travel agent involved with Virgin Galactic has seen a big increase in the number of very wealthy people interested in coming to Britain."

Mr Whitehorn said space flights from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray in 2013-14 could follow the first Virgin Galactic trips from New Mexico in two years' time. Test flights from the Mojave Desert on the US west coast begin in two weeks.

VisitScotland said it was targeting the US – its largest international market – by highlighting what Scotland had to offer.

It said the value of the dollar was not key to tourists deciding whether to visit, but stressed the importance of value for money offers such as the Edinburgh Pass.