Public appointments
The Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, Ivan McKee MSP, today announced the appointments of Paul Easto and Shona Marsh as Members of the Board of VisitScotland.
Article published 29/09/2022
Member | Paul Easto
Paul Easto is Chief Operating Officer of the Active Travel Group Limited having been co-founder and Executive Director of the Active Travel Group, which comprised five of the leading international travel brands.
He is also Managing Director of Wilderness Scotland Limited leading on business planning, strategy and development. He was previously an Advisory Board Member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association Advisor to the US based Adventure Travel Trade Association.
He also served as a Member of the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board where he chaired the Cairngorms Tourism Partnership and led on the development of the Park’s Sustainable Tourism Plan.
Member | Shona Marsh
Shona Marsh started her tourism career on a tourist office welcome desk and has since held roles in sustainable tourism, DMO marketing and membership development, tourism consultancy, and commercial development for SMEs in the industry.
She was the first employee of the start-up, Accomable, which was acquired by Airbnb. Following the integration of the business model into Airbnb, she moved to manage commercial growth of the Airbnb Experiences business in Northern Europe. Here she worked with thousands of small businesses and entrepreneurs to develop and grow high quality visitor experiences across the region.
Further information
Appointments
The appointments are for three years and run from 1 September 2022 until 31 August 2025.
The appointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.
Remuneration and time commitment
The appointments attract remuneration of £343.12 per day for a time commitment of two days per month.
Other ministerial appointments
Paul Easto and Shona Marsh do not hold any other public appointments.
Political activity
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.
Paul Easto and Shona Marsh have had no political activity within the last five years.
Background
VisitScotland is the Scottish Government Non-Departmental Public Body responsible for promoting the interests of the tourism industry across Scotland.
We are funded in part by the Scottish Government, and the Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise makes appointments to our Board, which has eight members including the Chair, Lord Thurso.
Our Board meets around six to eight times a year and is responsible for approving the direction set out by our Management Team.