Death of the tourist centre
Visitors told to plan and book online as all 25 sites set to close
THEY have long been the first port of call for holidaymakers from all over the world looking to discover the very best of Scotland.
But now the nation’s network of local tourist information centres is set to close for good.
Instead, services such as helping tourists plan trips and advice on visiting attractions is to be moved online.
All 25 information centres – known as iCentres – will begin a phased, two-year shutdown in October.
The move is VisitScotland’s response to changes in the way people plan holidays, with most using travel specialists and online resources including TikTok, YouTube and websites to research and book.
The national tourism organisation said that to adapt to this shift in behaviour, it will invest its resources and expertise in helping tourists make plans before setting off on their trip.
The centre closures will affect 120 permanent workers and 50 seasonal employees.
However, VisitScotland has insisted that there will be no compulsory redundancies.
Instead, affected staff will be offered a range of options including reskilling, redeployment and voluntary redundancy.
VisitScotland chairman Lord Thurso said: ‘The tourism landscape has changed significantly in recent years.
‘The demand for iCentres has reduced while the demand for online information and booking has continued to grow. In order to continue building demand and growing the value of tourism and events, it is vitally important that we target channels we know visitors use to influence them to visit Scotland.’
But Scotland Office minister John Lamont raised concerns about the move. He said: ‘The closure of all 25 VisitScotland tourist information centres across the country will be a blow to our towns and puts at a disadvantage the many thousands of tourists from the UK and beyond who use their services.
‘While online tourism is growing, it is not available to all and these centres from Lerwick to Dumfries ensure vital information can be accessed by those tourists, particularly the elderly. I’d urge the Scottish Government to consider the impact this will have on local businesses and on visitors to areas where tourism is a huge part of the local economy.’
Asked about the issue at a meeting of Holyrood conveners, Humza Yousaf said he accepted that most travellers ‘will use an app, or will go online’.
But the First Minister also said he has made VisitScotland aware that they should still leave something in place to help tourists, ‘even when information centres are closed’.