Why we must evolve if we want to drive the visitor economy and grow its value to Scotland

by Vicki Miller, VisitScotland Chief Executive

I’m a firm believer that to shape the future, we must first reflect on the past.

Over the last year, that’s exactly what we have been doing at VisitScotland, analysing shifts in financial, political, and travel landscapes to understand our strengths, where we can make the greatest impact, and what our stakeholders — whether visitors, businesses, or decision makers — need from us.

Fortunately, we have an excellent track record of evolving as an organisation and this marks the next stage of our evolution. One that sets us up for the future as an economic growth agency, whose core purpose is to drive the visitor economy, growing its value to Scotland.  

I’m incredibly proud to be leading this new incarnation of VisitScotland. While marketing will forever be part of our DNA, it is clear our role is, and needs to be, far broader than that. Through our work and our support of the industry we help to stimulate investment into Scotland and help businesses to grow.

To keep pace with change and make the best use of our resources and expertise, we are focusing on three priorities:

Market development - Growing and diversifying Scotland’s reach in key international and domestic markets.

Place development - Enhancing destinations to ensure tourism benefits communities and regions across Scotland.

Business and experience development - Providing tailored support to help businesses reach new audiences and markets and deliver high-quality, memorable visitor experiences.

We are using data and insight to ensure we are reaching the right audiences, offering the right support to businesses and prioritising the markets where we see growth and potential. 

Expanding Scotland’s share of the global market

The latest impressive international visitor figures demonstrate the importance of our work in this area. But we cannot get complacent. We are active in 17 global markets where we promote Scotland as a must-visit, must return, year-round destination. This includes influencing visitors, whether leisure or business, through the channels we know they use for travel inspiration to stay longer and spend more.

Our market development work also includes working with transport partners to help build a strong route network for Scotland. Making it easier for visitors to reach us.

This focus creates immediate returns for Scotland’s economy, benefiting various sectors and communities throughout the country.

Creating vibrant, welcoming destinations

Scotland’s distinct, varied and vibrant offering is what attracts visitors from across the world. It is why place and destination development go hand in hand with our market development activity. We need to help make sure that all areas of the country feel the benefits of tourism and events, and that communities feel comfortable and capable of welcoming visitors.

To do that we’re working with partners to shape the local visitor economy, maximising its benefits in line with the unique needs and opportunities of each destination. This includes collaborating with destinations to promote regional and seasonal spread, as well as supporting the delivery of world-class cultural, sporting and business events.

By taking a place-based approach, our aim is to make a significant impact and contribute to the development of national, regional and destination policy and projects.

We recognise that one size does not fit all and there are unique needs across sectors within tourism and events. In addition to having teams that are destination-focused, we are going to have a new sector-focused team to support the growth and development of the many key sectors that are driving the growth of tourism and events.

Growing the work we do with sectors and destinations is important as we look to respond to the opportunities and challenges they face.

Helping businesses and events to thrive

Finally, we’ve been reviewing our approach to business support and advice to ensure it meets your needs and reflects the ever-changing competitive environment. This has influenced how we will deliver our business and experience development activity.

We’re helping businesses to tap into changing travel trends, capitalise on local investment projects and sector strengths and adapt their offer to reach new audiences and markets.

To do that, we are going to provide tourism and events businesses with tailored, free to access advice and support to help them grow and deliver quality, memorable experiences.

We aim to reach more businesses across Scotland through a year-round programme. Using a range of measures including webinars, workshops, marketing opportunities and digital advice, we’ll provide support to businesses on a digital-first, but not digital-only approach, with one-to-one advice available where it adds most value to the business.

We’re also increasing our focus on business development by building a bigger team of subject matter experts across areas like sustainability, inclusion, travel distribution and travel trade.

We have an important role to play in providing industry guidance and have specialist knowledge and expertise in these areas of advice.

These teams will also work alongside an industry enquiry team who will be there to direct businesses to the most appropriate support – whether that be VisitScotland resources or those of our partner organisations.  

You can read more about our approach to business development and support here.

Looking to the future

Scotland consistently outperforms in a highly competitive global market, delivering world-class events and experiences that inspire visitors and set us apart. This success is no accident. It is built on collaboration, commitment, and the shared expertise of countless individuals and organisations.

With our renewed focus and strategic changes, I’m confident VisitScotland will continue to drive growth in one of Scotland’s most valuable industries. Together, we’ll ensure that tourism not only flourishes but also supports the sustainable development of our communities and economy.

Vicki Miller, VisitScotland Chief Executive