Responsible tourism strategy unveiled
A “hugely ambitious" new 10-year tourism strategy for the South of Scotland was launched today in Dumfries, seeking to “create Scotland’s fastest growing visitor economy”.
The South of Scotland Responsible Tourism Strategy and action plan, which sets out radical plans for tourism in the region between now and 2034, was formally unveiled at the South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA)’s third Annual Conference.
To create the strategy we worked with four major organisations – the SSDA, South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE), Dumfries and Galloway Council and Scottish Borders Council.
With input from hundreds of businesses, organisations and communities, the new responsible tourism strategy succeeds the region’s five-year post-pandemic recovery plan, whose aims were achieved two years early.
The South of Scotland set itself a COVID recovery plan for 2020 - 2025, aiming to establish a £750 million visitor economy and increase the associated number of jobs by 6,500. It successfully exceeded these targets two years ahead of schedule, signalling the visitor economy’s resilience and potential for growth.
As agreed in the Delivery Plan of the South of Scotland’s Regional Economic Strategy (RES), all key agencies in the region came together in 2023 to develop and agree a single responsible tourism strategy for the South of Scotland, with a clear action plan for successful delivery.
