WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SCOTTISH TOURISM?

The Scottish Parliament's Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee today announced an open call for information and views about tourism for its’ inquiry. The closing date is Monday 14 October 2002.  Interested individuals and organisations should send their views etc to the Committee. Wherever possible, please e-mail to:

tourism.inquiry@scottish.parliament.uk

If e-mail is not possible, please contact the Clerk to the Committee, Simon Watkins, on 0131 248 5207 to make alternative arrangements. For more information visit the website here Committee Home Page

 

The Committee's latest inquiry will examine the effectiveness of the Scottish Executive's current tourism strategy and will enable industry representatives at all levels to have their say on the way forward for this vital sector in Scotland's economy.

Committee Convener Alex Neil

Said:"Tourism is a vital and growing part of our economy, supporting around 8 per cent of all employment in Scotland - that's jobs for about 177,000 people. This inquiry will look at the Scottish Executive's tourism strategy, and at the structures and funding which support it. Scotland is a great place to visit, and we want to make sure that all our visitors get the best of what we have to offer”.

Keen to get your views

"The Committee is particularly keen to get the views from a good cross section of people working in the industry, and in particular from many of the small businesses. We recognise that summer is the busiest period for many people working in the tourism industry, so we have made the consultation period longer than usual, and we'll be reissuing this call for evidence in early Autumn."

Inquiry investigates….

The levels and effectiveness of Government support for tourism. It will also look at some….

Burning issues

These are:-

  • How effective is the current tourism strategy?
  • How effective is VisitScotland post-reorganisation?
  • What has been the impact of, and the response to, foot and mouth and 9/11/01? What lessons can be learned from these experiences?
  • What are and should be the roles of VisitScotland, the Enterprise agencies and the British Tourist Authority?
  • Is the current budget for tourism sufficient, and is the focus of investment appropriate?
  • How effective is the Area Tourist Board (ATB) structure? What other possible structures are there? (The Committee will pay due regard to the ongoing Executive review of this area to avoid duplication of work)
  • What issues arise from the first year of the introduction of the Euro?
  • How can niche marketing tourism be best promoted and developed?
  • How can the potential for e-tourism be exploited most effectively? Is the development of eTourism Ltd the most effective way to exploit the potential of the web?
  • How effective are the current funding and management arrangements for Tourist Information Centres'


Case studies

The Committee intends to undertake a series of case studies in late August/early September to investigate a range of issues and to meet people involved in tourism at local level.

Timetable

Initial case studies late August 2002
Discussion sessions Sept - Oct 2002
Report published January 2003