Current status: Answered by Jim Mather on 24 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to introduce mentoring schemes among tourism-related industries.
In partnership with the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise supports Business Mentoring Scotland (BMS). The latest phase of BMS was launched on 20 August 2008. It aims to advise around 1,200 businesses per annum, across Scotland, including tourism-related businesses. This service provides three levels of support:
Online information and registration facilities
A series of group mentoring meetings across the network of local chambers to provide access to a wider pool of contacts and business knowledge and opportunities
One-to-one mentoring
Twenty tourism businesses have been supported by BMS so far this year. One hundred and sixteen tourism businesses were supported in 2007. Currently, 25 of the mentors have experience in tourism.