Official Report 211KB pdf
Item 3 is our last item today. I felt that it was appropriate, in tourism week, for us to have a quick look at the current situation in the tourism industry. There have been several major recent developments, including the formal launch of homecoming, the publication of various reports expressing concern about the decline in visitor numbers last year, and the withdrawal of funding contributions to VisitScotland by some local authorities. My recommendation is that, although we are committed to return formally to the recommendations in our tourism report at the end of May and early June, we should have an additional evidence session at our scheduled committee meeting on 1 April to examine the current situation in the tourism industry and to get an update. Are there any comments?
That is a welcome recommendation. Sadly, the year of homecoming has thus far raised more questions than visitor numbers. That is a disappointment, although I hope that the situation may improve.
I hope that when the group goes to Orkney as part of our energy inquiry, we might find some time to take the temperature of the tourism situation there, because tourism is a crucial part of the economy of Orkney. It would be good to do that, in addition to our other work, wherever we go in Scotland.
We have recently had some incredibly crowded agendas. If we are going to examine the issue on 1 April, let us do it properly. We should give ourselves space to consider the issue and not overcrowd the agenda. We could perhaps have a rematch in October; the withdrawal of funding contributions from VisitScotland is particularly sad. It would take most of a meeting to successfully explore both that issue and progress against the committee's report, which I was not involved in. We may want to send a signal on individual parts of Scotland withdrawing funding contributions from VisitScotland.
The issue would be the main item on the agenda for 1 April. The agenda currently looks light, but we never know whether something, particularly regulations, might come from the Government towards the end of the year.
And the week before tartan week.
I concur with Wendy Alexander. The reduction in the number of visitors from England, which is our main market, is an item in itself and the withdrawal of funding is also an item in itself. We must do it properly and allocate sufficient time, but it is a very good idea to have the issue on the agenda on 1 April.
Is that agreed?
Thank you, colleagues. I will try not to have two meetings in one week regularly—once a week is more than enough.
Meeting closed at 12:12.