Partnership paves way to ‘fantastic’ tourism future
Frazer Coupland, chief executive officer of Lochaber Chamber of Commerce, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Highland Tourism Partnership, a collective of tourism groups from throughout the Highlands, encouraging collaborative working between public and private sectors.
Mr Coupland has long been involved in the Highlands tourism industry. As part of his chief executive officer role at Lochaber Chamber of Commerce, he also heads up Lochaber’s destination organisation, which promotes Lochaber as the ’Outdoor Capital of the UK’.
Mr Coupland says he is excited about the opportunities that working together across the Highlands brings: ‘The time is right for uniting the extraordinary work of the
Highland destinations, to deliver crystal-clear messages so that visitors, businesses, our valued communities, economies and our natural environment can enjoy a vibrant future. We can only do this if we work together.’
From the start of what has been described as an 'unimaginable year’, appointed leaders of Highland destinations have regularly met informally to overcome the challenges and find creative ways to work with the region’s vital tourism businesses.
As attention now turns to recovery, both destination leads and public sector partners felt that businesses would benefit from a re-established and stronger Highland Tourism Partnership.
Destination organisations across the Highlands are already signed up to and fully engaged with the Partnership. They represent more than 2,000 members fully engaged and ready to embrace a new set of challenges.
Asked why the Highland Tourism Partnership is so important, Mr Coupland answered:
‘I believe that working closely with public agencies who have committed to taking a supportive role in the partnership, whilst embracing the work done by each of our area's destinations, gives us a strong and unique brand which we can build upon.
‘With great management we can now start to think about Highland recovery and embrace the challenges ahead.’
There are four key pillars to the work of the Highland Tourism Partnership Survival and Recovery; Visitor Management; Talent
Attraction Experience.
The Highland Tourism Partnership will focus on Visitor Management and Recovery. Working across the agencies, the partnership will work to ensure businesses are well positioned to fully embrace the work carried out throughout lockdown.
That includes Education and Marketing, Infrastructure and Investment, Prevention, Regulation and Reassurance.
Speaking in his other role as chief executive officer of Lochaber Chamber of Commerce, Mr Coupland is confident the Highlands are ideally placed to benefit from the expected rise in domestic Scottish and UK visitors, when the time is right.
‘The Highlands are a dream destination for many, Our landscapes, activities, hospitality and food are world-class. Being ‘away from it all’ yet easily accessible, puts us in a strong position to attract visitors for the benefit of all our communities.
‘Our communities are the heart of everything we do and we are working hard to ensure we are doing everything we can to support our communities as we start to emerge from lockdown. and
Visitor
Frazer Coupland, chief executive officer of Lochaber Chamber of Commerce, will now also chair the Highland Tourism Partnership.
‘Both visitors and locals need to feel reassured and safe and we need to provide welcoming and memorable experiences that visitors will want to share and return to. Out of this time of crisis, we have an opportunity to create a fantastic future for sustainable tourism in the Highlands.’