Scotland

Tourism is an important sector for Scotland s economy, generating around £4.2 billion in revenue and supporting 218,000 jobs. Domestic visitors, from the UK, account for around 80 per cent of tourism trips to Scotland, while the USA, accounting for 18 per cent of overseas spend, is the biggest overseas market.

The visitor survey Visitor Experience 2008 showed that a very high number of visitors to Scotland were satisfied overall with their holiday and that six in ten visitors felt their holiday was better than expected. The main factors for choosing Scotland as a destination to visit are: the scenery, natural environment, number of attractions and the friendly attitude of the local people.

The tourism structure in the country consists of a national tourism agency providing industry support, marketing and research and regional offices acting as local champions

VisitScotland

Funded by the Scottish Government, local authorities and commercially-generated income, VisitScotland is Scotland s national tourism body. The organisation has three key roles: to attract visitors to Scotland, to engage with partners in the industry and to add value to the visitor experience.

VisitScotland has a central role to play in meeting the challenges set out in Scotland’s Tourism Framework for Change, which aims to establish Scotland as Europe s most sustainable destination, in economic, environmental and social terms, by 2015.

In addition to brand campaigns, VisitScotland runs a number of product-based marketing campaigns aimed at visitors with certain interests. These include touring, wildlife tourism, activity holidays, history and heritage and city breaks. VisitScotland also capitalises on special events, times of the year or topical issues to run a series of themed campaigns.

VisitScotland reorganised its local activities around six regions and three island areas in 2008 with the aim of making it easier for tourism businesses to engage with the organisation and access advice. The new structure also sees the introduction of four directorates to reflect VisitScotland s customer groups: Visitor Engagement, Business Engagement, Strategic Partners and Corporate Services.

Key People

Chief Executive Philip Riddle
Director of Visitor Engagement Malcolm Roughead
Director of Strategic Partnerships Riddle Graham
Director of Buiness Engagement Eddie Byers
Group Marketing Manager Helen Campbell
Consumer Insights Manager Susan Dickie
Strategic Relations Manager Chris Maguire
Head of Business Products and Services
Yvonne Cook

Contact Details

VisitScotland
Ocean Point One
94 Ocean Drive
Edinburgh
EH6 6JH

Tel: 0131 472 2222
Fax: 0131 472 2250

Corporate website www.visitscotland.org

Visitor information www.visitscotland.com

Sub Regional

Regional Network Offices

A new regional structure came into effect on 1st April 2008, with local activities restructured around six regions aligned to the Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise regions and three island areas

For contacts and further information about the VisitScotland Network Offices go to VisitScotland Network Offices

Sunday, 5 September 2010