Our Year's Activities
Quality Strategy
Service, quality and value for money are crucial in the drive to make Scotland a must-visit, must-return destination. We are competing with over 200 other countries eager to attract our visitors so we have to ensure that what sets us apart is the quality of product, service and welcome.
The good news is that Scotland is already positioning itself as a quality destination and we are building a positive reputation around the world. 'Market Positioning' is one of the drivers for growth, one of the ways in which, we believe, tourism businesses can enhance the experience of their visitors and increase the economic value of tourism.
We already play an active role in promoting quality and in driving up standards in the industry. We operate our Quality Assurance (QA) schemes for accommodation and attractions and have 'Welcome' Schemes for tailored for visitors with particular interest eg golfers, walkers, even bikers. In recent years we have introduced the Green Business Tourism Scheme (with over 700 business members) and EatScotland. The latter is designed for food and drink establishments serving all types of food. There is also a website www.eatscotland.com, a superb resource of food and drink information.
We want all our visitors to experience high standards in all areas of service. The QA scheme offers enormous benefits to visitors and businesses alike as they enable visitors to choose where they eat, stay or visit with confidence.
There is significant support from industry with high take up levels among tourism businesses. Some trade groupings (for instance Scotland's Best B&Bs, Scotland's Independent Hostels and the Association of Self Service Caterers) have made accreditation with VisitScotland's quality assurance schemes a condition of membership.