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Viewpoint - March 2007

A regular feature, inviting key individuals to comment on an aspect of scenario planning. Sandy Dear of VistScotlands' Sustainable Tourism Unit, discusses in interview Sustainable Growth towards Scotlands Tourism Ambiton.

Please note all Viewpoint...articles are not policies of VisitScotland but individual opinions of the authors. The material should not be regarded as specific advice and no action should be taken with reliance on it. Neither the authors nor VisitScotland accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage in any way of reliance placed upon the material.

Guaranteeing our Future

Sandy Dear;
Sustainable Toursim Unit
VisitScotland

We’re all well aware of the increasingly competitive nature of world tourism with new destinations entering the tourism market every year. At last count, there are some 200 countries are actively involved in attracting visitors to experience their leisure and business offerings. So if you’re the minister in charge of tourism in Scotland, how do you ensure, with so much invested in the industry and so much competition, that you have a future? According to the latest Executive Strategy, Tourism Framework for Change: The Next Decade, the answer seems to lies in sustainable growth.

The growth target is very clear: 50% increase by 2015. Underpinning this target is a commitment to growing revenue rather than numbers. In fact it’s estimated that only 20% of the growth will come from increased numbers with the remainder coming from increased spend per visitor. Add to this a commitment to managing visitors to minimise their impact on the environment and local communities, whilst at the same time generating employment and income, and Scottish tourism is well on the way to becoming a more sustainable industry.

Recognising the important part that Scotland’s environment and natural assets play in attracting visitors to Scotland, VisitScotland has long since been committed to promoting the greener aspects of tourism in our quality schemes and our marketing.

But sustainable tourism is much more than green tourism, it’s also about the built environment and urban areas too. In fact it embraces all of the economic, social and environmental impacts and benefits that tourism brings.

Reflecting the increasing importance that sustainability plays in tourism development, VisitScotland have responded with the creation of a new Sustainable Tourism Unit. The Sustainable Tourism Unit will lead efforts to make Scotland’s biggest industry, Scotland’s most sustainable industry. It will build on the work previously carried out by the Tourism and Environment Forum, working predominantly with teams and directorates within VisitScotland as well as agencies and businesses, ensuring sustainability threads through everything we do.

Sandy Dear, manager of the new Unit, said:

“As well as leading efforts by the wider industry to make Scottish tourism more sustainable, setting up this Unit gives us a great opportunity to put sustainability at the heart of everything we do at VisitScotland. If we are out there talking to the industry about being more sustainable, it’s important we can stand up there with the best of them and demonstrate how we are taking sustainability seriously in our own business.”

The Unit works closely with the new Sustainable Tourism Scotland Partnership. The Partnership brings together public and private sector organisations and champions sustainability throughout the industry.

Links:

For more information on the work of the Unit please contact Sandy Dear on 01463 723021 or email sandy.dear@visitscotland.com

For up to date information on sustainable tourism in Scotland and further information on the work of the Tourism and Environment Forum, visit: www.greentourism.org.uk

For information on the tourism strategy: Tourism Framework For Change, check out the Scottish Executive Website more