Driving Edinburgh's visitor economy

Our focus on place and destination development sees us working closely with regional stakeholders including Regional Economic Partnerships (REPs) and local authorities.

We've been collaborating with partners across Edinburgh and south east Scotland that are playing a pivotal role in the Visitor Economy & Culture delivery programme.

This programme is now an identified priority within the Regional Prosperity Framework and, as a result, all six local authorities have united to form the Regional Visitor Economy Partnership. 

Find out more about this activity and hear from our Regional Director for Edinburgh and the Lothians, Neil Christison, on the leading role he plays.

Pictured: View of Arthur's Seat with Edinburgh in the background.

Regional Prosperity Framework (RPF) 

The RPF Delivery Plan was published in March 2023. It has been designed to strengthen the city region’s global standing and support its ambition to become Europe’s leading data capital, driving sustainable and inclusive growth.  

The plan sets out an ambitious and dynamic series of four key programmes to deliver the region’s ambitions. These are: 

• Visitor Economy and Culture 

• Green Regeneration 

• Infrastructure for Recovery and Prosperity 

• Data Driven Innovation (DDI) Economy 

Pictured: Visitors enjoying a tourist attraction in Edinburgh and taking a selfie.

Regional Visitor Economy Partnership 

The Regional Visitor Economy Partnership was formed to oversee the development of a Regional Visitor Economy Development Plan, identifying key strengths and opportunities to position the region as a world-class, year-round destination.   

Our Regional Director for Edinburgh, East, West & Midlothian Neil Christison helps to lead, oversee and coordinate the Regional Visitor Economy Partnership with support from City of Edinburgh Council as chair and a range of other regional partners.

Neil is proud of the progress the group has made and he told us: 

“It’s been a privilege to work with partners across all six local authorities. There’s a shared focus on unlocking the region’s economic, environmental, cultural and social potential. These projects reflect the strength of that collaboration and the region’s visitor offering.” 

We're coordinating the development and delivery of strategic visitor economy and culture projects across the region. Following extensive consultation and analysis, four priority projects were identified for their potential to create meaningful short, medium and long-term impact.

These projects are:

• Culture - Regional Creative Content & Touring Network 

• Smart Data for Smarter Tourism 

• Cycling - Become a Leading Cycling Holiday Destination 

• Forth - Responsible Approach to Regional Cruise Management 

Collaboration 

This partnership represents a shared ambition to deliver more effective, ambitious, and collaborative cross-regional working. 

Neil highlighted the value of this partnership approach:

“This work has enabled collaboration in ways we’ve not seen before, significantly benefiting the regional visitor economy. Cooperation is essential to growing the sector and ensuring that the positive impacts of tourism and events are shared with our communities.

Having successfully completed phase one, the partnership now has a clear path forward. The region is well-positioned to deliver long-term success for the visitor economy establishing Edinburgh and South East Scotland as a world-class, year-round destination rooted in sustainability, innovation and collaboration."

Pictured: A group of visitors enjoy Edinburgh Winter Market.