22nd March 2022
I am delighted to lead this debate on Scottish tourism month—a month when our nation’s tourism industry comes together to host events under the Scottish tourism banner. I thank all members who will contribute to the debate.
The aim of Scottish tourism month, which is co-ordinated by the Scottish Tourism Alliance, is to engage, connect and inspire all of Scotland’s tourism industry. It celebrates the enormous contribution that tourism makes to Scotland’s economy and is an opportunity to showcase what our country has to offer both domestic and international visitors.
After two long, hard years, this is a critical time for tourism, and a focus is required to address some of the issues that the sector faces while declaring Scotland open for business. After all, Scotland may be a wee nation, but there is nothing small about our offer. Scotland boasts big, beautiful landscapes, with 30,000 lochs, 282 Munros and around 3,000 castles. Our incredible food and drink is of the highest quality and is world renowned, even if the more squeamish tourists may think twice about trying haggis.
As Scotland celebrates the year of stories in 2022, we enjoy stories and poetry of centuries of Scottish history, filled with epic battles and equally epic romances. Every year, millions of visitors enjoy our cities and towns, which are bursting with culture, talent and creativity. We should remember that Edinburgh festival fringe is still the largest arts festival in the world. Scotland has something to offer everyone, no matter the season or the weather. As Billy Connolly once said,
“There are two seasons in Scotland: June and winter.”
I promise that the weather does get a little warmer in the summer.
Brand Scotland is one of the strongest national identities in the world. In recent years, thanks to the success of popular shows such as “Outlander”, tourism has boomed at historic sites such as Doune castle, which has seen visitor numbers rise by 200 per cent. Scottish tourism is an economic and social powerhouse. It creates wealth, jobs and social benefits in every part of the country, while enhancing the wellbeing of our holidaymakers.
Spending by visitors in Scotland generates approximately £11.5 billion of economic activity for the wider Scottish supply chain. It directly contributes around £6 billion to Scottish gross domestic product, and 8.5 per cent of all businesses in Scotland are related to tourism. Tourism is a driving force for providing the jobs of today and tomorrow. For every £60,000 that is spent by visitors, a new job is created in Scotland.
In 2019, in Forth valley alone, there were 683,000 overnight visits, 8.1 million day visits and a spend of £328 million. However, during the pandemic, this strong and iconic sector arguably took a bigger hit than most. A VisitScotland survey in 2020 found that 99 per cent of businesses had experienced cancellations, a decline in bookings or fewer visitors. Many of those businesses experienced losses of up to £50,000, and for some, losses were substantially higher. By the end of 2020, more than a third of Scottish businesses overall reported to VisitScotland that they did worse than expected when they reopened in early autumn, although one in four did better.
To say that it has been a dark and worrying time for our tourism industry would be an understatement. However, it is always darkest before the dawn. With the confident strides that we are making out of Covid, there are encouraging signs of what lies ahead. In my constituency, bed and breakfasts on the eastern shores of Loch Lomond have advised that visitors are booking up very early for the year ahead, and in numbers; Stirling castle is developing exciting plans for the new season and is seeing visitors returning; and last year, Go Ape in Aberfoyle had one of its busiest years on record. Their hope is that, with the world becoming ever more conscious of its carbon footprint, the staycation trend is here to stay.
For me, the Scottish staycations that I shared with my family were a silver lining of the pandemic. We even had one in my own constituency during one of the lockdowns, which was absolutely fantastic. We had some of our best holidays ever. Scotland truly is a beautiful, amazing and welcoming place and—a wee plug—if you have not been to Stirlingshire, please come and see us soon. We need to ensure that we capitalise on our staycation offer in order to boost our economies and see for ourselves what a wonderful country we live in and what it has to offer.
Trade is returning, but any growth in tourism must be sustainable. Parts of rural Scotland in particular have become bucket-list destinations, which brings with it significant challenges around labour, housing for staff, infrastructure and connectivity. We must work together to seek solutions to those issues and ensure that our tourism sector is viable, sustainable and thriving for the future. Scotland is throwing open its doors to allow our vitally important tourism industry to flourish once more. My message today is simple: Scotland is open for business and we cannot wait to see you.
