The Scottish Government

This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

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Developing tourism into the new millenium: Tourism Minister announces action

28/10/1997

Scottish Tourism Minister, Mr Brian Wilson MP, today announced action to prepare Scotland's tourism industry for the new Millennium.

Announcing that the Scottish Tourism Co ordinating Group would identify long term trends, developments and examples of international best practice in the tourism industry Mr Wilson said:

"By the time the world enters the new Millennium, tourism will have become its largest industry. Tourism in Scotland already employs eight per cent of our workforce and accounts for five per cent of our GDP, but we must take advantage of the new opportunities that will emerge from a growing tourism industry in the future.

"That requires us to identify a number of issues. Firstly, future holiday trends. Who will take holidays in future, how often, what types of break will they wish to take, what standards of service will they expect? Then we must look to the competition. What threats are competitor destinations posing for Scottish tourism and, if they are meeting needs more effectively than we are, how are they doing this? And then, once we have the information to support and direct the development of tourism here, we must ensure that it can be disseminated to the Scottish tourism industry and is used to inform future tourism strategies and practices.

"This work requires the involvement of a number of bodies, including the Scottish Tourist Board, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It also requires the input of representatives of the tourism industry itself. I am delighted that the Scottish Tourism Co-ordinating Group has agreed to take the work forward."

BACKGROUND

1. Tourism is the world's fastest growing industry, growing at a rate of four per cent per year. In Scotland, tourism has grown throughout the 1990s. Tourist numbers have increased by 35 per cent between 1990 and 1996, while expenditure by tourists has grown by 22 per cent in this period. However, new international tourism destinations continue to appear and the nature of tourist patterns changes constantly.

2. The Scottish Tourism Co-ordinating Group (STCG) meets twice yearly under the Chairmanship of the Minister with responsibility for tourism in Scotland. Its membership includes senior representatives of a number of agencies with a significant interest in tourism, including the Scottish Tourist Board, enterprise, arts and culture, sports and local government bodies. Also represented is the Scottish Tourism Forum, which is an industry representative body. The purpose of STCG is to secure effective co-ordination between its member bodies and to oversee the strategic development of tourism in Scotland.