23 Jun 2010
AT A recent meeting of the Scottish Tourism Forum, Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) lecturer Moira Birtwistle stood up and said the industry was not willing to give her tourism management students a chance.
Moments later, chef Shirley Spear of the Three Chimneys restaurant on Skye said she was struggling to find employees.
Both the education and industry sides of the tourism sector admit they are not talking enough to each other to get the right balance of supply of young recruits and the demands of one of Scotland's biggest employers.
14 Jun 2010
SCOTLAND'S rural areas have seen a tourism boost, as cities suffered from cancelled flights because of Iceland's volcanic ash clouds.
The Scottish Tourism Forum (STF) said Glasgow and Edinburgh had been hit by the disruption as BAA admitted passenger numbers dropped last month across Scotland.
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Scotsman article.
14 Jun 2010
Stephen Christie travelled to a luxury Moray hotel at the gateway to Scotland’s malt whisky trail to discover whether the “staycation” craze holds any water
THE lure of Knockomie Hotel, which sits on the southern edge of the town of Forres, stretches far beyond its four walls and the four acres it occupies.
Five miles to the north, the picturesque village of Findhorn is hugged by the Moray Firth, while the Highland capital, Inverness, is less than an hour away by car...
11 Jun 2010
Sometimes scotland strikes it lucky. sometimes it doesn't. The recent flight disruption caused by the icelandic volcano has been bad for many tourist-related businesses. one hotelier is reported to have lost £80,000 in bookings as a direct result of customers cancelling their stay...
6 Jun 2010
Will the exit of VisitScotland's chief spell the end of the agency's problems or the start of new ones?
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Published Date: 06 June 2010 Scotland on Sunday
06 June 2010 Scotland on Sunday
Everything was going well and suddenly there's a problem with the chief executive. It is just bizarre
ANOXIOUS mix of recession and volcanic ash was all that was plaguing tourism body VisitScotland recently, until last week when the firm's internal wranglings hit the headlines. News leaked out that Philip Riddle, the firm's chief executive, was set to get the push from Mike Cantlay, the new chairman...
...Industry representatives are mostly in favour of Cantlay and are optimistic about his ability to lead the tourist body. Iain Herbert of the Scottish Tourism Forum said VisitScotland was working more effectively with the industry.
"It has improved," says Herbert. "Where there had been areas in the past we were concerned about, were lack of partnership and close working with industry. Communication with industry has improved."
04 Jun 2010
Potential for 'massive' growth in tourism
By Tristan Stewart-Robertson
SCOTLAND'S "fragmented" tourism industry has massive growth potential if the sectors work together more, a conference has heard.
Lack of connection between events such as Edinburgh's festivals and the tourism market mean the full economic potential has not yet been achieved, said industry leaders.
And there are bigger opportunities to cash in, as more Scots and other UK citizens decide to stay at home rather than run the risk of holiday disruption from aircrew strikes or volcanic ash.
The Scottish Tourism Forum event in Glasgow heard that the Scottish Government had recognised how complex and important the sector was.
Focusing on cultural and event tourism, delegates were told "staycations" made 2009 a success for Scotland while global tourism fell by 4 per cent.
Stephen Leckie, managing director of Crieff Hydro and chairman of the industry group with the forum, said the sector was "fragmented and complex" and getting the different organisations together was a challenge.
Scotsman
3 May 2010
A radical new departure for tourism promotion in Scotland has been launched in the Cairngorms, signalling a new route to growth for the £4 billion Scottish industry, which has struggled for a decade to convert improved quality into increased revenue.
...Alan Rankin, chief executive of the Cairngorms Business Partnership and a former head of the Scottish Tourism Forum, who devised the CBP after visiting similar collaborations throughout the world, said: “Our area was a pioneer of the DMO model and now we are moving on to the next logical stage where we bring together DMO principles, area marketing and the voice of the Chamber of Commerce.
Click here to read full Herald article
4 Apr 2010
TOURISM businesses should band together and speak with one voice in the same manner as the National Farmers' Union (NFU), according to the owner of one of Scotland's landmark hotels.
23 Mar 2010
As one of the largest caravan holiday organisations, the Caravan Club is lending its support to Scottish tourism by sponsoring key events during Scottish Tourism Week.
The Caravan Club is co-sponsoring with VisitScotland the Scottish Tourism Forum's MSPs Reception for the fifth year in a row.
It was also one of the main sponsors of the Scottish Tourism Week Conference, entitled Delivering for Scotland, at Murrayfield Stadium recently.
Full article My Holiday Caravan.com
18 Mar 2010
New food and drink campaign aims to build on Homecoming legacy.
'Land of Food and Drink' that's the theme under which Scotland will be marketed this year in a move tourism chiefs hope will replicate the claimed success of last year's Homecoming campaign.
Speaking at the Scottish Tourism forum's Delivering for Scotland confernece at Murrayfield earlier this month, tourism minister Jim Mather said it made economic sense to build on the co-ordinated approach of last year's campaign, which saw a year long programme of events marketed under a banner marking the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns' birth.
Click to read the full SLTN article