Partners of the South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA) unveiled a new responsible tourism strategy at the SSDA’s third annual conference, held at Crichton’s Easterbrook Hall in Dumfries, Scotland on 27 March.
Hundreds of delegates gathered for a day of knowledge-sharing and networking, including tourism minister Richard Lochhead MSP, the incoming head of Visit Iceland Oddný Arnarsdóttir, accessible travel specialist Paul Ralph and Melanie Allen of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere.
The strategy, which aims to grow the country’s visitor economy by £1bn and become the fastest-growing visitor economy by 2034, was co-developed by the SSDA, South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE), VisitScotland, Dumfries and Galloway Council, and Scottish Borders Council, with input from hundreds of businesses, organisations, and communities. It succeeds the region’s five-year post-pandemic recovery plan, whose aims were achieved two years early.
The new strategy plan aims to grow tourism spend in the south of Scotland by £1bn to £1.76bn by 2034 and support a further 6,000 jobs in the sector to 20,000 FTE by 2034.
Richard Lochhead said:”Tourism is vital to our country, creating jobs, sustaining communities and contributing significantly to the economy.”
Professor Russel Griggs, chair of both South of Scotland Regional Economic Partnership and South of Scotland Enterprise said:”Developing a long-term, ambitious tourism strategy was a key priority for the Regional Economic Partnership, and I am delighted to see public, private and third sector work together to shape what is a crucial document for the future of the South’s economy.”
