Chief Executive visits the Highlands

Day one

• Day one of Vicki’s visit included a tour and meeting with staff at Glen Mhor Hotel and Uile-Bheist Distillery, meetings with Inverness Castle Experience and Caledonian Concepts, followed by a stakeholder dinner hosted by Inverness Chamber.
• At Glen Mhor and Uile-Bheist Distillery, we met with HR Director, Fiona Connor, and staff from the carbon-neutral hotel, restaurant, brewery and distillery. The tour showcased the recent investment and development of the site, including Scotland’s first River Source Heat and Energy centre, and included discussion into how the organisation works alongside young people in the area to promote tourism and hospitality as an attractive career and the importance of retaining talent in the Highlands.
• At Inverness Castle Experience, Garry Marsden (Head of Inverness Castle Experience), hosted a tour of the £39 million transformed experience, formerly a sheriff court and prison, and discussed the importance of the attraction for showcasing the Highlands. The Inverness Castle project is part of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, which is a joint initiative supported by up to £315 million investment from the UK and Scottish governments, The Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and University of the Highlands and Islands, aimed at stimulating sustainable regional economic growth. 
• Malcolm and Carolyn Sutherland of Caledonian Concepts shared the importance of events to the Highland region. For the past 20 years, Caledonian Concepts has organised award-winning, mass participation sporting events including the Loch Ness Marathon, Loch Ness Half Marathon and Etape Loch Ness. With Vicki, they discussed the importance of the support they received from EventScotland, particularly in their early days, and how they're now working with international intermediaries to attract participants to the Highlands
• Hosted by Inverness Chamber of Commerce, day one closed with a stakeholder dinner at Ness Walk Hotel, Inverness. This was an opportunity for Vicki to meet with 14 local stakeholders, talk about VisitScotland's work, and hear about the opportunities and challenges faced across the industry in the Highlands.

Day two

• The day began with a Business Breakfast at Ness Walk Hotel, hosted by Inverness Chamber, where Vicki gave a presentation on driving sustainable growth in the visitor economy, sharing what makes tourism a crucial part of the visitor economy and international tourism statistics. She also discussed the impact of visitor expectations and the ever-changing digital environment, and why we’re prioritising market development to maximise our impact in attracting visitors to Scotland.

• At Landmark, Vicki met with General Manager Ross Coulter for a tour of Landmark, an iconic tourism attraction in the Highlands. The visit included a discussion on the seasonality of tourism in the Highlands, staffing and investment in the adventure park as it continues to develop and diversify its offering, which attracts a predominantly domestic market. 

• At Glenmore Visitor Centre, which is now owned and managed by Aviemore and Glenmore Community Trust, Vicki attended a roundtable lunch discussion, hosted by Cairngorm Business Partnership. This presented an opportunity to hear from local tourism and events businesses about the importance of tourism in their area and share about the work and impact of VisitScotland across the Highlands.

• Highland Wildlife Park was the final visit of the tour. Deputy CEO of Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (the wildlife conservation charity which runs Highland Wildlife Park), Ben Supple, led a tour of the renovated attraction (including their cafe, retail and visitor centre) which was completed earlier in 2025. Ben discussed the importance of the recent £7.6 million investment, and the Wildlife Park’s role in protecting and conserving species including the Scottish Wildcat.