Rural Community Gateway

If you think the website is bad, try looking for information on it for the Borders, and the South of Scotland! It virtually doesnt exist, or is so out of date it doesn't matter. And have you seen the promotional film by the director of "Girl with a pearl earring" I just hope Barra , with less than 1100 population, can cope with all the visitors looking to go sea kyaking! But what about the rest of Scotland!
How much did that one cost!

Checked the site and yes its diabolical and looks like a site for Tesco's or some online retail site. There isn't an ounce of Scotland's imagination grabbing spectacle on the opening page.

Everyone should check their own entry because I cannot find my own wildlife business on there yet and I have been in tourism here for around 30 years now !!!!

The overall impression is of some dumbed down website aimed at dumbed down visitors and we all know that the Highlands and Islands have some of the most thinking tourists in the world

23-Apr-2008 @ 10:59AM

Norette Ferns

The VisitScotland website was relaunched on 22nd April 2008. Technical changes and improvements have been made to the site.

Speaking before the relaunch in Edinburgh, Minister for Tourism Jim Mather said, "Since becoming Minister, I have hosted a series of round table discussions with key players in the industry about how we can give our visitors an absolutely first class level of service. At the top of that list was the strong desire for changes to be made to the Visitscotland.com website . . ."

You can read more about the relaunch and Jim Mather's statement in full here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/04/22105248

Take a look at the improved http://www.visitscotland.com/ What do you think about the changes? Let us know by adding your comments here.

Instead of concentration on quality control of Hotels, and Eating establishments, which are more or less the same requirements anywhere in Britain, why not just ask visitors exactly what they would like to see on their stay in Scotland, and not just with a "tick list", I have been in the Tourism business now for 30 years, and I am very aware that Visit Scotland, and the Enterprise companiesare extremely reluctant to take this approach, instead they merely wish to "Police the system" with quaality control schemes. Try a real survey for a change.Until you admit what visitors want, you will simply fail to support those parts of the industry capable of providing it! Yours, Brian Moffatt.

Why are we so obsessed with tourism accommodation in Scotland, seemingly at the expense of everything else that our visitors experience here !!?? I have run very successful business's but can see that the general public in Scotland are simply not committed, or do not understand the potential that tourism offers them or their children. This inbuilt attitude comes about because in places like Mull nothing changes regarding tourism infrastructure to illustrate that it 'IS' such an important industry. Mull is like a third world country, with no parking areas, passing place makers are rotting or falling down,there are few toilets and none away from villages at all, no on the ground interpretation, no public transport to most of the island. Are there timber/turf shelters for cyclists or walkers, a tourism tree planting scheme, ecological information for young visitors etc etc etc?
I firmly believe that if tourism were given the public credit that it deserves by government and our MSP's, quality people would come into the industry and produce the high quality accommodation that we know is lacking here. Until the industry receives due credit, the people who work in tourism are not going to raise their heads above the trenches of life here.

It is simply not sold as the top end industry that it actually is and the government are more likely to understand the building and funding of a chemical plant than a string of 5 star Eco lodges. In fact the they should take a lead from Spain and their 'Pardores' which are government run and very high quality hotels which set the benchmark for others in tourism to follow.

As someone who travels about Scotland as a tourist on a regular basis, I feel qualified to add to the debate.
I regularily use B+B establishments whether it be as part of a long distance walking holiday or touring by car. I may use the Tourist Board star award system on occasion but the best experiences I have had to date have been in wee out of the way places advertising with a hand painted sign on the gate or road side. For me it is about the warm, friendly welcome rather than if there is a hair dryer or TV !! Some "professional" landladies are just a bit too efficient and a bit intimidating !!! It is about local knowledge when I ask the proprieter to recommend local restaurants or places to visit.
I tend to avoid hotels as they can be ridiculously expensive and a bit anonymous. This does not need to be the case.
I would recommend using the internet for information especially when planning a long distance walk.
I personally feel holidaying in Scotland can be an expensive affair, especially if you have children. The option then is to rent a cottage but some of them are insanely expensive now. I can rent a cottage in Vence near Nice for £350 a week, great food and weather guaranteed.I would be hard pushed to do likewise here and the food and weather can range from the sublime to the disastrous.
I would welcome an improvement in the quality of food outlets and service but suspect that will be seen as a reason to increase costs further. I do not want Scotland to become a place that only the rich can holiday in. This is my country and I also want to continue to enjoy it too.
Dianne Smith

I absolutely support Daye Tucker. My favourite b&b in Scotland is not registered with VisitScotland and does not have en suite facilities, but the lady of the house provides a warm and genuine welcome and an excellent breakfast. The house is very comfortable, spotlessly clean and warm. There is a visitors' lounge and DIY tea in the bedrooms. It is very inexpensive, and single travellers are not charged extra for use of a double room. Perfect!

It is important that the benchmarking of tourist accommodation delivers a realistic indication of quality and value for money but recognition of what is valued by the visitor needs to go beyond the presence or otherwise of a trouser press. If the view from the bedroom window resembles an electricity substation festooned with patches of heather the savvy international tourists of the twenty first century will not be adverse to web-broadcasting their disappointment with the scenic grandeur of the highlands and tourism will rapidly dwindle.

Unfortunately tourism has never been seen as a 'proper' industry in our rural parts and yet it is a fact that the income and benefits from tourism are simply vital to the way of life here. There is no collective effort to improve the tourism experience for visitors nor to promote it to young people as a great industry to be part of etc. If the new government were sincere about tourism on the West Coast and in the Hebridean Islands they would not alone have shelved the possible Hebridean Islands National Park, in favor of nothing !! National Park status as all thinkers know is the biggest single step forward that my area can make and not just for tourism but for all people that live and work here. There is also no plan B in my opinion and in these environmentally aware times it is plain stupid not to embrace all that a green thinking national park could bring here.

VisitScotland may be good for promoting already well know areas, but in some parts of Scotland it has become extremely unpopular. They charge vast amounts of money to join, to be accredited, etc., but provide little or nothing in return, so that many people now refuse to have anything to do with them. Problem is, much of the money to promote tourism is channelled through VisitScotland, and unless you are an accredited member, you loose out. When is something going to be done to make VisitScotland accountable and make it fairly promote all its members?

The most important factor to consider is that we are all competing in an international market either in attracting foreign visitors here or attracting Scots to holiday in Scotland rather than going abroad. Consequently, we need a basic grading system describing the facilities in sufficient detail to enable a client to make an informed choice eg is there a swimming pool, coffee maker, bar, cafe etc.

Increasingly, vistors are travelling with laptops and need to know whether there is broadband and WiFi access.

This type of grading by physical facility obviously does not reflect the softer components of the product like "friendliness" or quality of service. The visitor can, however, assume that a management which has taken care to provide a wide range of facilties does take customer care seriously.

The comment on "soulessness" of web sites is Luddite and an indication of a lack of professionalism. The fact is that the tourist market is increasingly using the internet to search for accommodation and make direct bookings. Any accommodation provider who does not have a website and online booking by credit card is simply doomed to failure and quite deservedly so.

On the positive side, a well designed website can convey strong messages about the atmosphere and quality of a facility. In essence, the message is simple. Get graded! Get a website! Get real!

The occupancy statistics also show clearly that graded facilities achieve higher occupancy rates and achieved prices which will more than cover the cost of a hairdrier or wirless router.