VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead: Tourism is at the heart of economic success in the Scottish Borders

EDINBURGH, Scotland, 2016-Jul-11 — /Travel PR News/ — Leading tourism industry figures in the Scottish Borders came together recently to meet with VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead as part of his annual ‘Listening Tour’ of the country.

Building on the success of the 2015 Chief Executive Listening Tour, Mr Roughead spoke directly to emerging talent in the industry as part of his visit to the Scottish Borders, which also included a tour of local visitor attractions and businesses capitalising on the region’s unique heritage, natural environment and people.

The group of tourism representatives met at The Interchange in Galashiels to discuss the opportunities and challenges being faced in the region at the present time. Topics for discussion ranged from the Borders Railway to encouraging tourism as a career choice and from digital marketing to working together to promote the region.

Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said:

“Tourism is at the heart of economic success in the Scottish Borders –it creates jobs and sustains communities in every corner of the Scottish Borders all year round. The aim of today’s visit to the region is to meet with industry leaders to discuss how we can continue to capitalise on the wealth of opportunities in the region and maximise the visitor economy.

“The businesses I have visited today are showcasing the best of what the region has to offer – from its unique heritage to its outstanding natural larder. What has struck me about these businesses is their authenticity – whether it is making use of the wonderful produce the region has to offer, or celebrating the rich history and traditions.

“The re-establishment of the railway line from Edinburgh through Midlothian to the Scottish Borders demonstrates an enormous tourism investment in southeast Scotland. The lasting connections that we have made today will help us to forge new partnerships in the area to continue to maximise the visitor economy and build on the successful development of tourism in the Scottish Borders.”

Following a Question and Answer session, Mr Roughead boarded a Rabbies bus from Galashiels train station to visit the 16^th-century Aikwood Tower near Selkirk, owned by Rory and Vicki Steel, who renovated the former family home to offer luxury five-star boutique accommodation, and wedding and event venue. Next stop on the tour was the Tempest Brewery in Tweedbank, owned by Annika and Gavin Meiklejohn, who established the brewery in 2010 and recently expanded to new premises at Tweedbank. Tempest Brewery was recently named Scotland’s brewery of the year at the British Institute of Innkeeping Awards for Scotland.

Annika Meiklejohn, Director of Tempest Brewery, said:

“It was a pleasure to welcome the Chief Executive of VisitScotland to Tempest Brewery on his tour of the Borders. We are pleased to see the recognition for the role that craft beer production now plays in Scottish tourism.”

Vicki Steel, owner of Aikwood Tower, said:

“We’re delighted that Aikwood Tower was a part of this year’s Listening Tour. Over the past five years, we have worked hard to raise the profile of the Scottish Borders amongst all of our UK and international guests and so this was a fantastic opportunity to share our learnings and plans with the VisitScotland team.”

The meetings in the Scottish Borders were the third in a series of tours taking place throughout Scotland this year.

Full list of businesses that attended roundtable discussion with Malcolm Roughead in the Scottish Borders:

* The Abbotsford Trust, Abbotsford. www.scottsabbotsford.com/

* Selkirk County Hotel and Grapevine Restaurant, Galashiels. www.countyhotelselkirk.co.uk/

* Main Street Trading, St Boswells. www.mainstreetbooks.co.uk

* Peebles Hydro. www.peebleshydro.co.uk

* Born in the Borders, near Jedburgh. www.bornintheborders.com

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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 seven overarching strategies:
  1. Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
  2. Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
  3. Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international       opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
  4. Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
  5. Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
  6. Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
  7. Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
• VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
• 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.
• The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
• 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 events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
  Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016
• 2016 will shine a spotlight on Scotland’s achievements in innovation, architecture and design through a wide-ranging, variety of new and existing activity.
• The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design begins on 1 January 2016 and ends on 31 December 2016 and will build on the momentum generated by the 2015 Year of Food and Drink as well as previous years including Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
• Through a series of exciting events and activity, the year will showcase Scotland’s position as an “innovation nation”, its outstanding built heritage, and its thriving, internationally acclaimed creative industries sector.
• The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Scottish Government, Creative Scotland, Architecture + Design Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).
• The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
• Join the conversation at #IAD2016
• Events can join the 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design Partner Programme throughout the year by visiting http://www.eventscotland.org/YIAD_partner_programme

CONTACTS

Amelia Whittaker

Corporate Press Officer
South Region, Taste Our Best
Amelia.Whittaker@visitscotland.com
01750 723806
Out of hours – 0131 472 2324

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