VisitScotland miss the boat

Shadow Tourism Minister Mr Kenny MacAskill MSP has criticised VisitScotland for failing to attend a meeting of the major players in the Scottish cruise liner industry.

Mr MacAskill organised the meeting at Parliament Head Quarters today (Friday), in order to discuss the way forward for the industry in the wake of the Executive’s reorganisation of the Area Tourist Boards and question mark over the future of CruiseScotland.

The meeting was chaired by Alan Rankin, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Forum, and attended by representatives from Forth Ports, Clydeport and Cromarty Firth Port Authority as well as various Area Tourist Boards. However, VisitScotland declined an invitation to the event, claiming it was not a high enough priority.

Commenting, Mr MacAskill said:

“VisitScotland have completely missed the boat. The cruise liner sector represents a huge opportunity for increasing tourism in Scotland, yet our national tourism agency feel it is not worth even attending a meeting to discuss the industry’s future.

“The cruise liner industry is growing rapidly world-wide and Scotland is ideally placed to benefit from that growth. We have numerous excellent ports offering access to world class tourism facilities, from shopping to golf. Even short visits by cruise liner to our country can encourage tourists to return for longer visits in the future.

With the imminent reorganisation of the Area Tourist Boards and the future of CruiseScotland uncertain, it is vital VisitScotland play a leading role in giving the industry direction and purpose. Not attending an important gathering such as this is nothing short of a dereliction of duty on the part of VisitScotland.”