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Visit Scotland | Alba

Our strategy mix

The purpose of our marketing is to grow the value of tourism to Scotland. We do this by prioritising key markets and audiences to expand Scotland's share of global travel and ensure tourism is a force for good.  

We seek to highlight Scotland as an inclusive, all year-round destination, delivering powerfully enriching, personal experiences.  

Our strategy is an integrated mix of consumer and intermediary marketing. Enabling us to make Scotland discoverable across the visitor journey, from the early stages of awareness and inspiration through to planning and booking. We also utilise the power of advocacy by sharing real experiences and stories from Scotland.  

Through our consumer and intermediary marketing activity, we support Scotland’s tourism industry to deliver the aspirations and objectives of the Scotland Outlook 2030 strategy. We place our passionate people, our thriving places, our diverse businesses, and our memorable experiences at the heart of our marketing delivery.  

Our marketing strategy is divided into three main areas:  

  • integrated consumer marketing 

  • leveraging partnerships 

  • intermediary development 

Strategy success is a balance of four key outcomes

Spread

Encourage customer visits throughout the year and across Scotland

Spend

Increase quality experiences driving higher spend for each visit

Sustainability

Improve environmental and community impact

Satisfaction

From the visitor experience or for those within the visitor ecosystem

Integrated consumer marketing

Our consumer marketing targets segments in the US, UK and in other key markets across the globe. Its aim, to make it easier for people to discover Scotland’s unique and memorable experiences.  

Find out more about our target markets.

We use campaign platforms and channels to speak to our target markets, providing inspiration to visit Scotland.

By using consumer trends and insights we deliver multi-layered activity in key markets. Using data and insights, we produce high impact brand media activity to drive awareness and consideration for Scotland. Visitor interest and intent is then converted to bookings via marketing with online travel agent (OTA) platforms and transport partnerships.  

Our targeted media campaigns are supported year-round with an always-on programme of owned, earned and partner channel activity, aligned around our thematic content and creative production calendar. This helps strengthen storytelling by promoting Scotland's products, experiences, and places, and in turn stimulates advocacy. 

Our online and offline channels provide the best possible customer experience before, during and after visitors arrive in Scotland. We encourage visitors to share their experiences widely and by doing so become advocates for Scotland.  

Leveraging partnerships

To extend our marketing reach to audiences and drive greater impact, we work with regional, destination, sector and commercial partners who share similar strategic objectives. This helps drive awareness, consideration, and bookings for Scotland throughout the visitor journey.  

Our reputation and expertise enable us to maximise quality content and media partnerships and relationships. Helping us to deliver global reach with earned press coverage.  

Our partnership marketing includes a mix of: 

  • match-funded promotional activity
  • in-kind support
  • collaborative projects 
  • amplification of partner activity
  • regional campaign delivery

Find out more about our partnership activity.

Intermediary development

We provide business-to-business marketing opportunities. Connecting the right products and businesses to the right intermediary channels, helping us to maximise conversion of sustainable tourism. We also: 

  • support the internationalisation of Scottish tourism businesses 
  • provide key intermediary account management
  • organise targeted events including our showcase travel trade event, VisitScotland Connect  
  • deliver intermediary marketing activity

We work with the tourism industry at home and abroad to influence and support the development of products and experiences that visitors demand. 

Find out more about our intermediary activity.

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