New digital campaign by VisitScotland highlights the valuable role of young people in the country’s thriving tourism and hospitality sector

EDINBURGH, Scotland, 2018-Aug-13 — /Travel PR News/ — As thousands of graduates and school leavers across Scotland consider their next career move, a new digital campaign by VisitScotland is highlighting the valuable role of young people in the country’s thriving tourism and hospitality sector.

Future Focus, inspired by Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018, explores the journeys of a range of young tourism ambassadors working in the industry.

The campaign, which launches today (Thursday 9 August), aims to encourage businesses and organisations to celebrate young employees and inspire future generations to consider tourism as a career.

Scotland’s tourism industry accounts for approximately 217,000 jobs across 14,000 tourism businesses. Every £62,000 spent by visitors supports one job across Scotland’s economy.

Malcolm Roughead, VisitScotland Chief Executive, said: “Scotland is famous for many things; our stunning scenery, rich history, diverse culture and, of course, our warm welcome. If we want to continue keeping Scotland at the top of everyone’s now list we need to attract staff with the skills, passion and desire to ensure visitors leave with lasting memories of their time here.

“Throughout the Year of Young People 2018 we have been celebrating the astounding talent and priceless contributions of those aged 8-26 years old. We want to inspire the next generation to choose tourism as a career and join this fast-paced, exciting and vibrant industry which is the heartbeat of the Scottish economy.”

From chefs to tour guides, event organisers to marketeers, a series of specially-created videos and blogs throughout the year, will share the stories of those helping ensure Scotland is a must-visit destination.

Joe Posnett from Edinburgh is one of 54 apprentices working with Apex. The 21 year old is completing an apprenticeship at Apex City of Edinburgh Hotel, gaining experience in a range of areas, from waiting and kitchen work to reception and housekeeping.

As he explains in his video, an apprenticeship was an ideal alternative as Joe prepared to start his career. Joe said:“Learning and working is amazing, I didn’t get on at school because I’m not a book learner and there was a lot students like me with so much potential in different areas. A big part of what I would like to do in the future is to help those that still don’t know what is out there for them. There are so many avenues that hospitality can take you down.”

Robert Allan, Human Resources Director at Apex, added: “We were thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase the journey of one of our apprentices – we hope this will help to inspire even more people who want to forge a career in an exciting industry.

“Right now we have more than 50 apprentices working across a variety of roles which is testament to our commitment to investing in skills development. They receive tailored support that’s right for them, with mentoring, coaching and confidence building.

“The Year of Young People has provided an excellent opportunity for us to show the array of opportunities out there and is sure to capture the imagination of the industry’s next generation of stars.”

Tourism businesses across Scotland are now being urged to shine a light on their own young rising stars and join the conversation on social media using #FutureFocus and #YOYP2018.

For more information about #FutureFocus visit www.visitscotland.org/future-focus

Notes to Editors

• Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
• VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
• The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
• This will be supported by five overarching strategies: Marketing, Events, Quality and Sustainability, Inclusive Tourism, International Engagement.

• The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
• Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
• For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
• Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
• For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
• For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com

2018 Year of Young People

• The Year of Young People (YoYP 2018) will inspire Scotland through its young people aged 8 to 26, celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and globally
• Central to YoYP 2018 will be a celebratory events programme that puts young people at the heart of its development and delivery, creating new and valuable experiences for young Scots and the wider public, with links to the inaugural 2018 European Championships.
• Over 200 young people throughout Scotland are currently being recruited to become YoYP 2018 Ambassadors. Ambassadors will ensure that people and organisations in their communities know about what’s happening and will lead on projects and activities to create events and opportunities to celebrate young people.
• The Year of Young People will have six themes which were developed in co-production with young people themselves:
• Participation – looking at how young people can influence public services and decisions which affect their lives
• Education – creating a stronger role for young people in shaping their learning
• Health and Wellbeing – supporting young people to lead healthier, active lives and have opportunities to learn about and improve their mental health and resilience
• Equality and Discrimination – broadcasting the value of young Scots, challenging negative perceptions of young people, and supporting young people to take leading roles in challenging discrimination in all its forms.
• Enterprise and regeneration – celebrating young people’s role in innovation, entrepreneurship and the Scottish economy as well as making Scotland a greener and more pleasant place to live
• Culture – celebrating young people’s talent and contribution to Scottish culture and arts.
• Further information on what’s happening and how people can get involved can be found on the new website www.yoyp2018.scot or @YOYP2018 on Twitter.

Press Contact:
Louise Purves
Senior Corporate Press Officer – National
Consumer PR (Scotland), Year of Young People, UK Marketing, Dundee, Fife, Angus, Perthshire
louise.purves@visitscotland.com
0131 472 2052
Out of hours – 0131 472 2324

Source: VisitScotland

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