VisitScotland

Organisation overview
Formed	1969; 57 years ago (1969) (as the Scottish Tourist Board)
Type	Executive non-departmental public body
Jurisdiction	Scotland
Headquarters	Waverley Court, 4 E Market St, Edinburgh
Employees	482 (2025)[1]
Minister responsible	Stephen Flynn MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport
Organisation executives	Vicki Miller, Chief Executive Stephen Leckie, Chairperson
Website	www.visitscotland.com

VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board (Scottish Gaelic: Bòrd Turasachd na h-Alba), is the national tourism and events organisation for Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with offices across Scotland.^[2]

Among the organisation's tasks is promotion of Scotland internationally and the attraction of visitors to Scotland through advertising, promotional campaigns and in-market activity, intermediary marketing and route development. VisitScotland runs a major travel trade event annually, bringing targeted international buyers together with Scottish businesses to showcase their products and experiences and develop new audiences; ultimately enhancing tourism's impact as a key global export.

Aims and operation

VisitScotland's purpose is to support and grow Scotland's visitor economy in a responsible and sustainable way, helping tourism and events deliver economic, social and community benefits across the country; and drive international awareness ensuring that Scotland remains a competitive global destination.

The organisation works closely with the tourism and events industry in Scotland to provide business support, industry insight, trade opportunities and global market access. VisitScotland delivers the National Events Funding Programme and International Events Funding Programme, as well as providing tailored support and advice to develop regional plans aligned to the national events strategy. In collaboration with regional partners, VisitScotland supports sustainable destination development and tourism infrastructure projects that benefit communities and visitors. VisitScotland also runs the annual Connect travel trade show ^[3] and national Thistle Awards, which are awarded to the best tourism and events businesses each year.^[4]

History

The history of VisitScotland dates back to the establishment of the Scottish Tourist Board (STB) in 1945, which aimed to promote tourism in Scotland. A recognition of the importance of tourism to the UK economy resulted in The Development of the Tourism Act (1969), which came into force on 25 July 1969. This further solidified the board's role in encouraging visitors to Scotland and improving tourist amenities.

The first branded Scotland’s Travel Trade Fair (STFF) was held in May 1980, attracting 180 Scottish exhibitors in its first year along with 80 UK travel agents and tour operators, plus 120 from overseas who were brought by the then British Tourist Authority.

In 1985, the Tourism (Overseas Promotion) (Scotland) Act allowed the STB direct access to overseas markets for the first time.

The Scotland Act 1994 required the establishment of area tourist boards, of which there were 14. In April 2005, the existing 14 boards were wound up and 2 new boards (at the time called network tourist boards) were established in their place. The Scottish Tourist Board and the network tourist boards operated under the banner of VisitScotland. The Tourist Boards (Scotland) Act 2006 intended to abolish the network tourist boards, to rename the Scottish Tourist Board as VisitScotland and to increase its maximum number of board members.^[5]

Over the years, VisitScotland evolved to deliver against changing global visitor demand and needs, including establishing and distributing the Scotland overseas publication in ten languages, managing bookings and information provision via tourism information centres, managing quality grading schemes for tourist accommodation and attractions, erecting tourism signage across Scotland, developing TV campaigns, and delivering a travel agent training programme. Following the pandemic, VisitScotland delivered vital recovery funding to industry.^[6]

To deliver the first ever 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, VisitScotland established a wholly owned subsidiary company called 2023 Cycling World Championships Ltd (Cycling Worlds). The subsidiary was created as a dedicated delivery vehicle to plan, organise and stage the event, which brought together multiple cycling world championships into a single mega-event across Scotland. In addition to £344 million incremental spend (resulting in £205 million Gross Value Added) and 5,285 full-time equivalent jobs in Scotland, the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships successfully engaged a global audience, profiling Scotland as a tourism destination and a world-leading major event host.^[7]

Websites

Today consumers across the globe increasingly turn to digital channels to find information relating to destinations and to inform travel decisions. VisitScotland has a number of websites it owns and manages in order to reach audiences.

VisitScotland.com is the official consumer-facing website of VisitScotland. The website helps people discover Scotland online. It inspires people with engaging destination content while giving them credible, up‑to‑date information that give a sense of place and supports the conversion of ideas into real travel plans.

VisitScotland.org is the corporate website of VisitScotland. It provides information on Scotland's national tourism and events organisation, and the industry at large - from the latest news, data and insights, and job vacancies, to VisitScotland activities and campaign results.

VisitScotland's business support contents are accessible via the Business Support Hub website. The website provides tailored support, insights and recommendations to help tourism and events businesses enhance and grow their business sustainably.

See also

• Tourism in Scotland
• VisitBritain
• VisitEngland
• Visit Wales

References

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