David Keen: Developing destinations in partnership with East Lothian and beyond

Meet David Keen, Destination Development Assistant Manager

David Keen is our Destination Development Assistant Manager for East Scotland; he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role. Previously, David worked in the iCentre in Edinburgh, where he began as a summer seasonal assistant before moving into the Assistant Manager position.

Reflecting on his previous experience, David learned a great deal from working in a close team environment, engaging directly with businesses, operators and retail suppliers, as well as managing a team of up to 20 staff during peak season.

David joined our Destination Development team earlier this year and has been able to transfer many valuable skills into his current role.

“The biggest change has been going from being visitor-facing to working directly with industry and tourism groups, partner organisations and community groups, as well as local authorities, to support destination development objectives. I’m enjoying the challenge and the opportunity to support business growth and development.

“A key focus for our Destination Development team is regional collaboration, and it’s great to be able to work at a regional level to support tourism businesses to grow.”

Drop-in and Connect event

Recently, David attended the East Lothian Drop-In and Connect event at the Marine  North Berwick, as part of East Lothian Council’s first  Business Month programme of events.

The event delivered by the Council’s Economic Development team brought together Council departments, businesses, tourism organisations and support partners to share updates, explore resources and make new connections all which helps to strengthen collaboration across the local visitor economy.

Laurence Rockey, Chief Executive of East Lothian Council, welcomed attendees and spoke about the importance of local business resilience in challenging times, opportunities around renewable energy, and the recently launched survey  the potential to investigate a  Visitor Levy in the region.

Independent researchers 56 Degree Insight are leading the Visitor Levy engagement on the Council’s behalf - they attended the event encouraging awareness of their survey. Open until the end of November 2025, the survey seeks views on:

• the support for a Visitor Levy in principle
• how a levy could be designed and collected
• how funds could be reinvested to benefit communities, visitors, and the local economy

The Marine North Berwick - where East Lothian Drop-in and Connect event was held

Working in partnership with Visit East Lothian

We recently spoke with David, who attended the event, and highlighted the strong partnerships across the region.

“It was a great opportunity to meet with businesses and partners. I work closely with Neil Christison, our Regional Director for Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, and Midlothian, to support the tourism industry and build strong relationships across our communities. We’re always looking for ways to create collaborative experiences and to promote the resources available through our Business Support Hub.”

David also emphasised the positive collaboration with Visit East Lothian:

“East Lothian Council continues to support cohorts of businesses taking part in travel trade development programmes, and we look forward to seeing a strong East Lothian presence at VisitScotland Connect next April under the Visit East Lothian brand.

"In spring 2025, Visit East Lothian ran a successful marketing campaign with Expedia which upweighted VisitScotland’s national Expedia campaign. This delivered a targeted regional message which amplified VisitScotland’s national campaign work and encouraged visitors to book a trip to East Lothian."

Following this, two further campaigns are currently in development with Tripadvisor and Skyscanner for 2026. These intend to drive bookings and increase recognition of East Lothian as a holiday destination in the UK and German markets.

East Lothian assets from our Expedia campaign