chairman's statement
Scottish tourism is at a crossroads. We can continue on the same path, keeping tourism visits and spend stable, or we can shoot for the stars and show how this great industry can grow the Scottish economy beyond all expectations.
As Chairman of VisitScotland, playing it safe is not an option. We have a three- year window in front of us - a once- in- a- lifetime opportunity to change the face of tourism in Scotland - and VisitScotland and our team at EventScotland intend to do everything they can to exploit it.
I like to call them the winning years - three fantastic years starting with Year of Creative Scotland 2012 to the end of the Year of Homecoming 2014 and including some of the biggest events on the planet - all impacting on or coming to Scotland.
In 2012, the Olympics provide us with a platform to present our culture to the world as well as bring people to Scotland from a crowded South of England. The Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup in 2014 will focus the eyes of the world on Scotland. As well as the direct and significant financial impact, we need to translate the worldwide media coverage we'll be engaged with into visits to Scotland.
And then there's Brave, the biggest film and tourism opportunity to hit Scotland since Braveheart. Based in a mythical Scotland, this Disney Pixar production will hit cinema screens worldwide in the summer and we will be looking to translate that audience into visitors to Scotland.
VisitScotland and EventScotland have their eyes on the prize, with our teams already marketing across the world and securing the legacy for the future. For us, the opportunity started years ago and is part of our future strategy to bring more world-class events to Scotland as well as keep them uppermost in potential visitors' minds.
But we can only do so much and I am appealing to the tourism industry to help us grasp this opportunity. These winning years can only be delivered if everyone works together - from the smallest B&B to the biggest resort hotel. One goal, one Scotland, working together to make this happen.
We need to make tourism the hero of the Scottish economy - with everyone understanding its size and potential over the next three years. This is about benefitting everyone in Scotland - not just the tourism industry.
I honestly believe this is about catching the moment - every public sector body, every business and every member of the Scottish population needs to be on board to be able to deliver this growth. It's about creating new products - from developing family facilities complementing Brave to simply providing a welcoming face to every visitor. We need to improve visitor access, connectivity, work with new Destination Organisations locally, encourage capital investment and ensure the next generation is well supported and trained to sell Scotland.
We know that tourism can deliver immediate and sustainable growth to the Scottish economy and we are lucky to have a Government that recognises this as well as cross party support for growing and developing this industry for the future.
So, here we are. We are standing at a crossroads - are we going to ignore the winning years or take the right turn to an amazing future for Scotland's largest industry? I know which way I am going to go....Are you coming with me?
Dr Mike Cantlay
Chairman
