Visit Scotland To Close All 25 Visitor Centres By 2026 - Statement By Lord Thurso

28th March 2024

Statement By Lord Thurso, VisitScotland Chair.

I have been Chair of VisitScotland for eight years and in that period we've seen huge changes to the way people access their travel information, not to mention advances in technology and shifts in the economic landscape.

We've seen the well documented widespread use of smart phones, the rise of influencers, new platforms like TikTok and the accelerated pace of AI.

We've seen the growing popularity and importance of tour operators and travel agents with almost two thirds of international visitors to Scotland booking as part of a package.

During this time, our industry has also faced unprecedented challenges, yet despite this tourism and events continues to be a social and economic powerhouse.

Scotland's tourism industry has a proven track record of embracing change. Post-COVID, our collective efforts resulted in a strong recovery of international tourism with an increase in spend by international visitors to Scotland.

Together with businesses and our partners, we want to build on that success and ensure that across all areas of our work - marketing, destination development, business advice, insights and events - we prioritise the activities that will deliver for our industry and for Scotland.

And to do that we need to evolve and adapt to the changes we are seeing in the world around us.

It would be remiss of me as I step down as Chair not to proactively take steps to prepare the organisation for the future. So that it can continue to deliver its core purpose to drive the visitor economy and grow its value in Scotland

We must look at where we can invest our resources and expertise to make the greatest economic impact. After conducting an extensive review, we can do this by focusing on providing information to visitors before they leave home.

Most people use digital channels to plan their trips and I’m sure if you were to think of your own experiences, many of us book our accommodation and activities before we travel to our chosen destination. If you take that into consideration it means the most influential window of opportunity has become those early travel planning stages.

VisitScotland already has great success in this area. Our social media accounts reach millions, our visitscotland.com website is a wealth of advice and inspiration. Our work with influencers and leading brands such as Expedia, Disney/NatGeo, SkyScanner, GoPro and Wanderlust means we are constantly reaching and inspiring new audiences right across the globe.

Our research shows that by reaching the right people, with the right message, at the right time we can inspire when they decide to come, where they go and what they will do. Put simply, at this stage of the planning journey we can ultimately shape how long people stay in Scotland and how much they spend when they are here. We can target the channels we know visitors use to maximise our reach and influence in our key markets, ensuring Scotland is a "must visit, must return" destination.

But it’s important to emphasise that this is not simply just down to economics. This approach to sharing information with visitors also supports our responsible tourism ambitions. By reaching people before they leave their homes we can encourage greater regional and seasonal spread. We can highlight lesser-known destinations and the joys of visiting Scotland at different times of the year. This helps ensure destinations are capable and comfortable of welcoming visitors throughout the year. We can also inspire our visitors to make more sustainable choices while in Scotland.

I want to recognise our dedicated and enthusiastic iCentre staff who I know are impacted by this decision. Their knowledge and expertise have helped countless visitors over the years and I’m truly grateful to each of them for their hard work. Unfortunately though, the world around us has changed and we have no choice but to change with it. We will support our staff who are affected by this change and will work with each of them on their individual options.

All our iCentres will remain open until the end of September. There will be no overnight change but it is vital we are upfront with our intention so we can have honest conversations about local arrangements with relevant stakeholders. While on the ground information provision may not fit with our strategic aims for the future, we know that there are examples of communities who have adopted their own ways to deliver information to great success.

I firmly believe the decision we have made is the right thing to do. This is about evolving and learning, it’s about taking what we know works well, adapting it and investing our efforts so that we are ready and able to support the industry and grow the value of the visitor economy to Scotland.