About the STA

Who we are

The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) is the overarching leadership and representative body for Scotland’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Our organisation comprises over 250 trade associations, businesses, destination groups and other organisations with an interest in tourism and hospitality.

We are able to offer the best possible representation of the issues and challenges we face as an industry through continuous engagement with more than 70% of tourism businesses in Scotland.

Our membership is spread across all regions and destinations in Scotland. We are governed by a Board with representation from across Scotland’s tourism and hospitality industry, and supply sectors.

We are committed to representing issues of national importance which affect Scotland’s tourism and hospitality industry; we are focused on removing barriers to growth and working with governments and the public and private sectors to improve the global competitiveness of Scotland’s tourism industry.

Tourism and hospitality matters. It is the lifeblood of many of Scotland’s communities. It is one of the largest employers in the country; one of our greatest exports and our industry has the capability and potential to enrich the lives of Scotland’s people, our visitors and those who work within our industry.

The STA led and co-ordinated the development and launch of Scotland’s tourism strategy, Scotland Outlook 2030, in collaboration with the Scottish Government and its agencies. We remain driven by this strategy, growing the value and positively enhancing the benefits of tourism across Scotland by delivering the very best for our visitors, our businesses, our people, our communities, and our environment. Our policy agenda and representational activity is centred on seeking to influence the right conditions that will enable a sustainable and thriving industry and to achieve our collective national ambition.

There has never been a time when our industry has needed such strong leadership to help all of our tourism and hospitality businesses, and the industry’s supply chain, to move through recovery. We ask that you stay connected to the STA and channel your voice through our activity to create better conditions to grow a sustainable tourism industry for the future.


Our Mission

To shape a vibrant tourism industry for Scotland’s visitors and people

How do we do this?

• We listen to better understand our industry
• We influence and shape policy with our insights
• We help industry connect to encourage better collaboration
• We lead and inspire our industry to help it grow


Our Vision

Making tourism everybody’s business


The Industry Connector

The STA connects tourism businesses, destinations and sectoral groups and other organisations to improve collaboration and knowledge sharing and the sharing of best practice.

Why Tourism & Hospitality Matters

The sector is acknowledged by all of Scotland’s political parties as being one of “Scotland’s most important industries”.

The tourism and hospitality industry is a cornerstone of the Scottish Economy, and vital to the economic performance of towns, cities and regions across the length and breadth of Scotland.

The industry accounts for around one in every twelve jobs in Scotland, and around five per cent of the Scottish Economy’s Gross Value Added (GVA). It plays an important role in the economies of Scotland’s major cities, while also making a substantial contribution to sustaining employment and economic activity in Scotland’s rural communities.


Official documents