Tourism chief claims city's 'winning years' are on way

Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, said that the Capital's hotels and attractions had been "remarkably resilient" during the economic slump.

He also insisted that the 2012-14 period would see a massive improvement in the tourism sector, with the city set to benefit from the impact of the London Olympics and Scotland hosting the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup.

His comments came as VisitScotland figures showed that accommodation bookings through its Princes Street visitor information centre (VIC) were up by 18 per cent so far this year, while visitor attraction ticket sales erre up three per cent. Ticket sales at the Edinburgh Airport VIC erre also up 29 per cent.

Separate data also showed that hotel occupancy had increased every month this year apart from March, while Edinburgh Airport passenger numbers surged by 13.7 per cent in May.

Mr Cantlay said: "The numbers of people and spend in the VICs at Princes Street and Edinburgh Airport bodes very well. This is the last really difficult year before what I call the winning years of 2012-14."

He said that "masses of rooms" had been sold in Edinburgh already for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, even though a date has not yet been confirmed.

"After the snow, storms and volcanic ash, we really are in a position now to move forward," he said.

Hotel room occupancy has also grown, with 86 per cent occupancy in May, but bosses say profitability is being hurt by inflation and changes to the minimum wage.

Colin Paton, chairman of the Edinburgh Hotels Association, said: "There is a cloud on the horizon and that is that the economy in respect of corporate guests is facing an element of uncertainty.

"VisitScotland may feel good about the top line, but if you take a holistic view and look at profits then caution is necessary."

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