IS IT a "target" or is it an "aspiration"? The urgent need for Scotland's tourism industry to take 50 per cent more cash by 2015 is in danger of being lost in semantic quibbles. Iain Herbert, the recently appointed chief executive of the Scottish
Tourism Forum, doesn't much care what we call it. Nor does he want to encourage any more discord in the sprawling, uniquely diverse £4.2 billion industry on which Scotland's economic future largely rests.
"I find 'target' a boring word," says the 45-year-old from Murrayfield in Edinburgh, who assumed the leadership of the Scottish tourism industry in September. He betrays not a scintilla of doubt that Scottish tourism can achieve that growth figure. But he wants tourism to be discussed in a less reductive, and more imaginative way.
"What we should be concentrating on is becoming the country that other countries point to and say 'if you are going to do tourism, that is how you should do it'.
"There is a constant competitive game going on internationally. Already other countries are pinching our ideas. But my view is that despite all the small businesses doing great work, all over the country, and real excitement in the industry about the challenge that we have set, Scottish tourism remains a sleeping giant."
How best to prod it into wakefulness is the subject of a new Holyrood inquiry, launched last year by the economy, energy and tourism committee.
Herbert's response to this consultation is his calling card to the industry and should heavily influence the eventual report.
The STF represents businesses that live or die through their understanding of the tourist mind. Herbert's own CV features experience in the success of some of Scotland's most distinguished and successful tourist attractions: the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre, the Falkirk Wheel and the Royal Yacht Britannia.
He was head of visitor operations for National Museums Scotland, covering Scotland's six cities, and was responsible for the development of the Concorde attraction at the Museum of Flight.
More recently he was operations director for Hadrian's Wall Heritage, encouraging tourism and regeneration of the 74-mile-long world heritage site.
Alastair McIntosh, chief executive of the the Scotch Whisky Experience (formerly the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre), says: "Iain is a very able individual and a very nice chap. I'd like to think he learned a lot about exceeding the customer's expectations during his time here. He knows the sharp end of tourism, and it doesn't come sharper than being at the top of the Royal Mile."
Herbert and his organisation speak with more authority than public sector players, though he is full of praise for the performance of the national marketing agency VisitScotland, which is charged with getting the tourists here in the first place and generates impressive rates of return on investment.
He is clearly a seeker of consensus rather than confrontation. But is this what the Scottish industry needs?
Scott Taylor, chief executive of Glasgow City Marketing Board, thinks it is. He gives the STF and the Herbert himself high marks for their advocacy of hot industry concerns to government:
"I think Iain's doing a very good job of seeing what the relevant issues are – for example the damage done to a company like EasyJet by the ending of the Route Development Fund. These companies badly need to get the ear of government."
Given the bitterness of some tourism industry issues, the attractions of diplomacy are obvious enough. Among others, there have been dust-ups over local representation for tourist businesses and the provision of adequate local information for the casual, walk-in customer.
There is also the perceived conflict of interest surrounding the national website, VisitScotland.com, between its private operator e-Bookings and its mission to inform.
Herbert, who went to George Watson's College and studied design technology at Napier University, is carefully bland on such issues, aware that in this "complicated industry" his job is to "represent everyone".
"I think the problems of the past have been well recognised, but it's where we go from here that is important."
"We need to make sure that the website works for the best because if we are to achieve this target we need everything to be well oiled."
"That is not to dismiss the problems that we have had before, but I think there would be a high cost involved if the website was to be returned back into single ownership. What we at STF can do is to apply the necessary pressure to make sure we get the most out of the system we have."
Herbert's other priorities are geared towards winkling the last ounce of value from Scotland's natural assets and from the still under-appreciated good fortune of Scotland's enduringly sky-high "brand value" among other citizens of planet Earth.
Even our rain, he claims, can be sold as an interesting asset in a new field of operation called "weather tourism". He says: "We should stop apologising for our weather. People aren't necessarily coming for the sun. Some of them want to see storms."
Another example he cites is sailing. Everyone knows or is vaguely aware that sailing on Scotland's West Coast is a yachtsman's paradise, but where is the co-ordinated drive to market it as such?
"It's how you get at this potential that is important. Likewise orchid-hunting, or bird-watching. The trend in tourism is for greater engagement with the countryside, and Scotland has never been seen as a cheap destination, so there is a lot more we can do to extract value from these assets.
Herbert's immediate route to raising revenue per tourist, without compromising value for money, is to encourage visitors to stay an extra night, by encouraging cross-marking between businesses and providing the kind of satisfaction that people write home about (or at least write on Tripadviser.com about).
The trick is "to use authentic local produce and true engagement with the area. This contributes to a high level of satisfaction and a desire to experience more of the country. All of this leads to a higher spend without any risk of alienation or feeling of over-pricing."
Other issues at the top of his agenda include securing the workforce of the future. Like everyone who has been served in a Scottish hotel or restaurant in recent years, the STF is well aware of the huge impact Eastern European migrants have had in Scotland, and he worries about excessive reliance on their labours.
There is also the question of their skills. "We have to ensure that migrant workers in the industry are suitably supported on issues of Scottish heritage and culture which are integral to the visitor experience," he says.
More generally the STF insists on the need for more training, better retention and better remuneration to create a workforce capable of satisfying the increasingly demanding – and increasingly mobile – tourist of the future.
The STF also has concerns about the costs to the hospitality industry of complying with new licensing regulations, and demands to be involved in decision-making on investment in transport. After all, tourists from most other countries in the rich world are less likely than domestic travellers to shrug off the manifold failures, sudden cancellations, delays and general monolingual unhelpfulnesss of Scotland's rail network. Especially on Sundays.
Iain Herbert's belief that these are exciting times for the Scottish tourist industry is credible, and not only because of looming set-piece mega-events like the 2009 Gathering of the Clans, or the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup.
Herbert sees an opportunity in a restructured public sector for a "more encompassing, cohesive approach" to drawing visitors to the cities, lochs and glens, and to sending them homeward with good stories to relay, happy memories … and considerably lighter wallets.
LARGE UMBRELLA
SCOTTISH Tourism Forum is an independent industry body, chaired by the hotelier Peter Taylor, which represents tourism and hospitality businesses across many sectors.
Within its membership, it has 45 trade associations, encompassing an estimated 6,000 businesses.
Funded by its membership, STF's remit is to "highlight business and product development opportunities within tourism, and facilitate business-to-business opportunities."
A key concern facing the industry is marketing spending as the competition for the international traveller heats up.
Iain Herbert says other European destinations, for example Spain and Ireland, spend at levels greater than Scotland's, but notes that the country enjoys a very high return on investment – £39 income for every pound spent on domestic marketing and £25 to one overseas.
The full article contains 1435 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
