Scotland must work harder than ever to secure its position as a leading destination despite a string of major attractions this year, a Dundee tourism conference heard yesterday.
Scottish Tourism Alliance chief executive Marc Crothall said the industry had been handed a wonderful opportunity by a calendar which includes the Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and a year-long programme of Homecoming Scotland events.
But drawing on the example of breakneck development in cities like Dubai and Shanghai, and the explosion in mobile technology he warned against complacency, saying businesses must continue to invest in technology, service and skills to maintain the country’s position with increasingly demanding customers.
As an example Mr Crothall told the gathering at Dundee’s Malmaison hotel that South Korea is building 140 championship-standard golf courses, meaning Scotland must fight to retain its leading status and the lucrative visitors it brings.
The STA last week used its national conference to call for VAT to be cut to 5% for the tourism industry, saying many EU countries already benefit from a step which would attract more visitors and generate more tax revenue for HM Treasury.
“The pace of the world is changing and it will continue to change,” Mr Crothall told an audience of around 140 delegates, which included tour agencies, B&B owners and professionals.
“Standing still is not good enough and relying on the legacy of 2014 is not good enough. We can’t be complacent. We have to have to more businesses using new technology it is vital.”
Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sandra Burke said VisitScotland statistics showed tourism is worth around £244 million a year to the region’s economy, supporting 8.7% of the workforce in 9,450 posts. But the area attracts a relatively low proportion of all tourist visits to Scotland at 3.6%, and just 2.7% of Scotland’s total tourist spend.
That is set to change after completion of the “game-changing” £45m V&A Dundee project in late 2016, with project bosses expecting between 270,000 and 350,000 visitors per annum and potentially much higher numbers during its early years.
V&A Dundee marketing and communications manager Tara Wainwright told the conference the design museum would itself create around 60 full-time jobs and help stimulate a further 300 across Scotland.
She stressed that visitor projections had been fully tested during a lengthy period of business planning, involving qualitative and quantitative analysis of thousands of potential visitors from across Scotland and northern England under three different methodologies.
Some £29.2m of the cost of the dramatic riverside building has now been raised, with project managers hopeful they will have positive news from further grant applications in “the next few weeks”.
Construction is expected to start in August, with shortlisted contractors also expect to submit tender documents in the near future.
“Now is the time to take up the challenge of working out how your business can take up the challenge of welcoming the world,” Ms Burke said. She insisted that businesses, no matter how small, must start planning to take advantage of Dundee’s continuing development now.
The conference, jointly organised by the Chamber, Dundee City and Angus councils and VisitScotland, also heard from Scottish Government External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf MSP, who spoke about the impact of Scotland’s people, and East Kilbride Shopping Centre manager Ian McLelland on the WorldHost customer service training programme being offered to businesses in Dundee.
Glasgow Caledonian University Professor John Lennon, head of the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development, hailed the economic impact of large-scale events, while the Hideaway Experience’s Caroline Millar outlined the benefits of digital marketing.