Tourism industry facing challenges

Visitscotland pledge to help businesses in new year

A tourism guru has been reflecting on the outlook for the sector across Stirling over the winter months.

Visitscotland regional director Neil Christison said Scotland’s tourism industry is facing fresh challenges, having already experienced considerable difficulty during the Covid-19 pandemic. And he added that the rise in the cost of doing business was having a significant impact on the industry, as well as ongoing issues with staff recruitment and retention.

But he also highlighted a number of ways his organisation would be supporting the sector.

“At Visitscotland, we continue to work with partners in our tourism and events industry on promoting activity that extends the season and ensuring Stirling, as well as Scotland as a whole, remain front of mind for potential visitors,” said Mr Christison.

“We’re prioritising activities that will stimulate demand and new bookings for the industry to support its long-term recovery.”

He added: ”Through our activity, we are developing exciting relationships in order to reach a wider audience. For example, this year we have undertaken marketing partnerships to encourage sustainable travel to Scotland with Avanti, Scotrail, LNER and Caledonian Sleeper. We’ve also worked with Hostelling Scotland, with its headquarters based in Stirling, National Museums of Scotland and Diageo to jointly push their offering to potential visitors. Last month we launched our Great Days Out campaign with the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) and Historic Environment Scotland to encourage people to take advantage of the discounted rates and experience a day out at one of the many fantastic attractions and experiences on offer across the country. This includes Doune

Castle and Stirling Castle.

“As part of our Scotland is Calling activity, we’ve launched the latest phase of our Expedia partnership running across both the UK and US markets with the aim of boosting bookings through autumn, winter and into spring 2023. This includes a focus on Scotland’s cities featuring Stirling. We recently launched a brand-new trail and map exploring Scotland’s tales of witchcraft to mark our Year of Stories 2022, featuring the Witchcraft and Wizardry Escape Room and Witches Craig Caravan & Camping Park in Stirling.

“We also released a newlook film location guide, Set in Scotland, which features locations across the Stirling area.

“And last month Forth Valley’s tourism industry was reunited after almost three years at a special event organised by Visitscotland. An in-person networking session took place for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began at The Albert Halls in Stirling.

Mr Christison said Visitscotland would help support the tourism industry navigate the challenges ahead of them.

He added: “By working together, we can ensure the sustainable and long-term recovery of one of Scotland’s most valuable industries.”