Scotland’s ambitious aspirations to be “the world leader in 21st-century tourism” was unveiled at the Scottish Tourism Alliance’s autumn conference earlier this month.
The draft of Scotland’s future tourism strategy was shared with around 450 industry delegates at the high-profile event in Edinburgh.
Marc Crothall, STA chief executive and chairman of the Strategy Steering Group joined Stephen Leckie, chairman of the STA and the Tourism Leadership Group to share the refreshed vision and a new mission statement – “Together we will grow the value and positively enhance the benefits of tourism across Scotland by delivering the very best for our visitors, our businesses, our people, our communities and our environment”.
This future strategy has been developed by industry in partnership with the Scottish Government and public agencies. It will be delivered through a joined-up approach spanning all sectors and destinations, with new ways of working.
Scotland’s future tourism strategy has been developed around four key priorities – people, place, businesses and experiences, each with a key aim and set of outcomes.
Crothall said: “The draft of Scotland’s future national tourism strategy has, unlike TS2020, been developed through an equal partnership approach with a range of stakeholders from industry, Scottish Government and our public agencies.
“It is reflective of the changing world we live in, our new mindset and approach to how we live and work – and represents a bold step forward in setting our industry on a path to delivering benefits to those who visit us, Scotland’s people, the communities within our destinations, local economies, our wider economy and, indeed, all of our sectors.
“As a result of what is happening in terms of trends, forecasts and future consumer behaviour, there is a need for our tourism industry, Government, public sector and communities to collectively respond, adapt and collaborate to deliver responsible, sustainable, managed growth for the future.”
Find out more at Scottish Tourism Alliance.