Jump to content

VisitScotland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromVisit Scotland)

VisitScotland
Organisation overview
Formed1969;55 years ago(1969)(as the Scottish Tourist Board)
TypeExecutive non-departmental public body
JurisdictionScotland
HeadquartersOcean Point One, 94 Ocean Drive,Leith,Edinburgh
Employees525 (2019)[1]
Minister responsible
Organisation executives
Websitewww.visitscotland.comEdit this at Wikidata

VisitScotland,formerly theScottish Tourist Board(Scottish Gaelic:Bòrd Turasachd na h-Alba), is a nationaltourismorganisation for Scotland. It is anexecutive non-departmental public bodyof theScottish Government,with offices inEdinburgh,Glasgow,Aberdeen,Inverness,and other parts of Scotland.[2]

Among the organisation's tasks is the attraction of visitors to Scotland throughadvertisingandpromotional campaigns.VisitScotland also manages a number ofquality grading schemesfor tourist accommodation and attractions.[3]The organisation also operates the VisitScotland.com website which provides bookings and information service for visitors to Scotland. From 2001 this website was operated as apublic-private partnershipventure,[4]though this venture (and the website) was brought back into public ownership in 2008.[4][5]

Aims and operation

[edit]

VisitScotland's primary aim is to market Scotland as a tourism destination, which it does through advertising and promotion as well as encouragingpress articleson Scotland and what it has to offer the business or consumer visitor.

The organisation also seeks to work with the tourism industry in Scotland to maintain standards in visitor attractions and accommodation provision. It does this through a number of specific quality grading schemes.[3]VisitScotland also runs the Thistle Awards, which are awarded to the best tourism businesses each year.[6]

Website

[edit]

VisitScotland.com is the official website of VisitScotland. The website acts as a bookings and information service for visitors to Scotland. Accommodation availability information, as well as more general information about Scotland, is provided from the www.visitscotland.com domain.

VisitScotland.com was initially the trading name of eTourism Ltd, a private limited company set up by apublic-private partnership.[7]In 2003 the IT services groupSchlumbergerSemawas taken over byAtos.[8]There was a major restructuring in July 2006 that saw VisitScotland increase its stake from 25% to 36%, Austrian booking specialist Tiscover took a 35% share and ATOS reduced its stake from 60% to 7%.[8]Partnerships UKLtd had also been shareholders.[9]

The ownership of VisitScotland.com became a divisive issue within the Scottish tourism industry. A number of accommodation providers lodged a petition with theScottish Parliamentto return the group to public ownership, arguing that the use of public money to fund the parent company eTourism Ltd was disrupting competition, an assertion which eTourism unconditionally rejected.

In 2008, aScottish Parliamentinquiry led byTavish Scottconsidered some problems associated with the website and made the recommendation that the Scottish Government find additional resources to resolve these.[9]On 7 November 2008, it was announced that ownership of VisitScotland.com was to be transferred solely to VisitScotland, with £1.2 million of funds being used to purchase shares from all other shareholders.[10]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2019(PDF).visitscotland.org(Report). VisitScotland. 2019. p. 64. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 18 January 2023.Retrieved15 January2020.Total FTE @ 31/03/19 [..] 525
  2. ^"Our Locations".visitscotland.org.Visit Scotland.Retrieved15 January2020.
  3. ^ab"Quality Assurance gradings - QA Conditions and Criteria".visitscotland.org.VisitScotland.Retrieved13 June2019.
  4. ^ab"Tourism body criticised over handling of e-tourism venture".parliament.scot.Scottish Parliament. 14 May 2009.Retrieved13 June2019.
  5. ^"VisitScotland's online booking site loses £12m over five years".heraldscotland.com.Herald Scotland. 15 May 2009.Retrieved13 June2019.
  6. ^"North of Scotland attractions win big at Visit Scotland's tourism awards".pressandjournal.co.uk.Aberdeen Journals Ltd. 16 March 2019.Retrieved13 June2019.
  7. ^Donald, Colin (31 August 2005)."Anger at VisitScotland's 'hijack' system".The Scotsman.Retrieved16 July2016.
  8. ^abFriedli, Douglas (23 July 2006)."VisitScotland.com books Austrian specialist".Scotland on Sunday.Retrieved16 July2016.
  9. ^abDonald, Colin (12 July 2008)."Inquiry calls for overhaul of VisitScotland's 'obsolete' website".The Sunday Herald.Retrieved16 July2016.
  10. ^Ferguson, Brian (7 November 2008)."National tourism website is handed £1.2m bail-out".The Scotsman.Retrieved15 July2016.


Stub icon

This article related to government in Scotland is astub.You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VisitScotland&oldid=1230830633"