Total Quality

Scotland is positioning itself as a quality destination and we are building a positive reputation around the world. While we will never be a mass tourism destination like Spain, we can and should compete with, for example, Sweden, Germany and Switzerland.

In these countries a reputation for quality is present throughout the entire industry. On the basis of current average spend and current number of visitors, if 10% of our visitors spent the same amount as the average visitor to Switzerland, this would be worth an additional £550 million to Scottish businesses.

This is not about high prices, it is about high value.

The luxury tourism market is important in all countries, including Scotland.  But market positioning is about representing high quality in all our sectors. The challenge for tourism businesses is to determine their own position and to use quality as the starting point for all visitor products and services.

There are many wonderful and celebrated examples of quality products available across Scotland, and this is to be congratulated and encouraged. We know that most of our visitors are interested in buying gifts and souvenirs of Scottish crafts and produce.

Our research shows that visitors often leave spending less than they had planned – we must make sure that we have quality authentic products available.