VisitScotland

2009 has been a good year for tourism in Scotland. It has not been a record year overall, but given the pressures of recession I'm happy to say that we've fared better than most.  Over the first six months of 2009, global tourism was down around seven percent, Europe was down eight percent, but Scotland held its own ? which puts us among the best in the world.

We have been the beneficiaries of some good luck. Luck, though, is only an opportunity; you still have to take it. We have seized our chance by directing our efforts to take advantage of both the weak pound and the stay-at-home trend within our biggest market, the UK. The Winter White and Perfect Day campaigns, which highlight Scotland as a country of activities to be discovered and enjoyed in all seasons, proved highly successful with UK visitors in a year when outbound tourism from the UK was down by up to 17 percent.

Homecoming has also turned out to be everything we had hoped for. We look to be in line to surpass all objectives, including those for tourism and economic impact, and there's no question that it has increased visitor numbers and spend in a difficult year. It also has given us an important legacy in the form of new contacts made and lessons learned. We discovered the real leverage to be gained from the effect of new partnerships across a whole range of sectors, and from engaging the whole nation in the tourism agenda for the very first time. We saw the difference that having a full programme of events for a whole year can make, and we've reaped the economic benefits of reaching out to Scots around the world. These are all things that can be repeated.

Looking ahead, we expect to see a similar pattern of visitor activity in the coming year. People will continue to feel the pinch and they'll be looking for good value wherever they can find it. But there's always opportunity in adversity and if we can persuade people who are looking to stay at home that Scotland can offer them a more enriching experience, then perhaps we can benefit from this trend.

In two other important developments during the year, we acquired VisitScotland.com and reshaped our approach to quality assurance.

The visitor website was losing money. Now it's on a sounder financial footing and paying back loans. The main focus of the whole venture going forward is to make it as easy as possible for visitors to contact the places they want to stay and visit directly.

The new quality assurance scheme will also make things easier for visitors by being more inclusive. We're keen for the whole of Scotland to be represented and we're introducing a new, self-verified entry level to the programme.

We know that there will be significant pressure on public spending in the foreseeable future and our budget will not be immune. We'll have to become adept at achieving more with less. The past year has already given us valuable experience in this respect. The effectiveness of our summer and winter marketing campaigns is proven, and there's much from Homecoming that we can put into practice in other contexts.

I'm grateful to all VisitScotland staff for their commitment during what has not been an easy year and I know we all have the dedication to see us through the current downturn. We can take heart from the fact that Scotland is better placed than most. As we know from experience, our industry is very resilient and I have immense confidence for the future.

Philip Riddle
Chief Executive