Our Year's Activities
Partnership Strategy
Tourism is one of Scotland's most important industries earning over £4 billion for the Scottish economy. It employs over 200,000 people, touching every part of Scotland and is inextricably linked to future economic development. We know that Scottish tourism has not yet reached its true potential but it needs all of us involved in the industry to work even more closely.
Partnership is the key to unlocking this potential. There are already many examples of partnership working around the country including 17 Area Tourism Partnerships (ATPs) where VS is one of many participants along with local businesses, enterprise agencies and local authorities. The ATP agrees priorities for action at a local level and produces an area action plan. This plan supports the national tourism strategy.
As a public agency we have close working relationships with the Scottish Government, sister agencies and the 32 local authorities. We work with partners - both private business and local authorities - to provide visitor information services within some of our network of Tourist Information Centres.
Most tourism businesses in Scotland have a relationship with VisitScotland, either directly or indirectly. Many participate in our range of marketing opportunities and have been successful to secure financial support through the Challenge Fund. VisitScotland.org, our website, has a wealth of information for businesses ranging from legislation through to new initiatives and products such as the Scotch Whisky Tourism Initiative or Country Sports Tourism Groups. And every month the VisitScotland e-Update is emailed to 8,000 businesses around Scotland with industry news and features.
Here are some of our main partners:
- VisitScotland.com
- EventScotland
- Scottish Enterprise
- Highlands and Islands Enterprise
- VisitBritain
And others include
- 32 Local Authorities/COSLA
- The Forestry Commission
- Historic Scotland
- The National Trust for Scotland
We are all focusing on a target of a 50% increase in revenue by 2015. To reach this successfully will require all those involved in tourism (both public and private sectors) to work together in a more open and coordinated way. This is a fiercely competitive industry. To survive and grow successfully, we must be able to adapt to new trends, be innovative and develop new products and services to meet the needs of the visitors of tomorrow.
