Annex B
SCOTTISH AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE - ANNUAL
REPORT
TOURISM IN SCOTLAND
The Government Response to the Committee, on 10 April
2000, reported that all of the recommendations relating to devolved
matters had been taken into account in the Executive's new strategy
for Scottish tourism, published on 14 February. In the period
since, considerable action has been taken to move implementation
forward.
Significant progress has been made on the development
of e-commerce through the major tourism IT project, www.visitscotland.com,
previously known as Ossian. E-commerce for accommodation providers
was introduced in the summer. The Scottish Tourist Board is working
to develop a joint venture with the private sector. The new partnership,
amongst other actions, will provide a contact centre and a single
telephone number for Scottish tourism. These will be in place
by early summer 2001. It will also develop e-commerce for other
sectors of the tourism industry such as visitor attractions.
A new skills group has been established, which will
assist the industry to meet the Government's targets for Modern
Apprenticeships and Individual Learning Accounts. The new Group
- Tourism People - is chaired by Peter Lederer, Managing Director
of Gleneagles Hotel. Its membership is drawn mainly from the tourism
sector and it has direct links with other initiatives such as
the national Springboard initiative which promotes tourism as
a career. The Group is currently preparing an action plan that
aims to tackle the major skills problems inherent in the industry
today.
A team of quality advisers has been established within
the STB. They will be able to provide assistance to businesses
on a one-to-one basis. Accommodation businesses in membership
of the quality assurance scheme are required to be more transparent
in respect of charges for accommodation and phone calls.
New marketing campaigns have been undertaken by the
STB, aimed particularly at the spring period. An action plan to
develop golf tourism has been published and is being acted upon.
Similar action plans are being prepared in respect of genealogy
and cultural tourism.
An independent management review of the Scottish
Tourist Board reported on 3 November. It recommends widespread
change to the structure of that organisation and better linkages
with partners, in particular, with the Enterprise Networks and
the 14 Area Tourist Boards. A new Chief Executive is to be appointed.
One of the most immediate changes will be a name change to Visit
Scotland.
November 2000
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