STA Activity – February
In January the STA Board was very kindly hosted for a round table lunch at DWF in Edinburgh with invited guests including Andrew Wilson, Founding Partner Charlotte Street Partners and Chair of the Sustainable Growth Commission, BBC Business and Economy Editor, Douglas Fraser and Tavish Scott, Head of External Affairs Scottish Rugby. A thoroughly insightful and enjoyable two hours with much food for thought on what the future of Scotland’s tourism industry could look like, given the right conditions for growth.
February has been a busy month in terms of the work we do to represent your business and the voice of Scotland’s tourism industry.
We had the announcement of the Scottish Government budget earlier this month which responds to many of the direct asks we have outlined to the Scottish Government on behalf of our industry.
We are encouraged by some of the supportive measures for businesses as part of the budget, one of which will see 95% of properties paying a lower poundage in business rates than the rest of the UK in addition to business rates relief for many businesses.
This is hugely positive news for the tourism sector in particular and I am sure that many of our businesses will welcome the opportunity to capitalise on this relief and turn thoughts towards investment in their product and people.
We are particularly encouraged by the Scottish Government’s commitment to investing in infrastructure. Our connectivity, transport and infrastructure is without a doubt one of the most important areas which has lacked sustained investment; it is absolutely critical that this continues to be a priority policy if we are to deliver the vision of the future strategy of being the world leaders in 21st century tourism.
We also welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to invest in our destinations, with the announcement of £201M for city deals and the £28M for South of Scotland Enterprise which will support the creation and delivery of new and better experiences for visitors to Scotland in line with the expectations and demands of today’s visitor.
The UK Government’s immigration policy now represents the biggest threat to Scotland’s tourism industry and we have convened a meeting with leading industry figures and sectoral counterparts this week to discuss our next steps and longer term activity on the issue.
You can view our statement here and link to press coverage here.
Please be assured that the STA will do all that we can to remove barriers that threaten our ability to grow as an industry and every day we are attending meetings, making calls and using our influence to make things better for your business and tourism in Scotland.
