STA Destination Member Forum Tuesday 27th October 2020 11.00am-12.30pm Meeting attended by Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism

STA Members Present: Angus Tourism Cooperative Louise Nicoll SkyeConnect Alistair Danter Argyll & Isles Tourism Co-Op Iain Jurgensen Scottish Tourism Alliance Karen Christie Ayrshire Councils Abigail Coia Scottish Tourism Alliance Mhairi Clarke Cairngorms Business Partnership Mark Tate Scottish Tourism Alliance Marc Crothall Cairngorms National Park Authority Murray Ferguson Scottish Destination Management Association Les Maitland Destination Orkney Elaine Tulloch Shetland Tourism Association Nadine Samuel East Lothian Council Elaine Carmichael South of Scotland Destination Alliance David Ibbotson Edinburgh Tourism Action Group Donald Emslie South of Scotland Destination Alliance Gemma Reid Falkirk Council Tracey Martin UKInbound Joss Croft Fife Tourism Partnership John Murray VisitAberdeenshire Chris Foy Life / Glasgow Convention Bureau Aileen Crawford Visit & Speyside Limited Laurie Piper Inverclyde Council George Barbour Visit West Lothian Stewart Ness Lochaber Chamber of Commerce Frazer Coupland VisitArran Sheila Gilmore Outer Hebrides Tourism Rob McKinnon VisitInvernessLochNess Michael Golding Renfrewshire Council Andrew McKean

STA Members Apologies: Confederation for Passenger Transport Jeremy Tinsley Midlothian Tourism Forum Simon Beattie Dundee & Angus Visitor Accommodation Association (DAVAA) Calum Crichton The Black Isle Tourism Team Julian Paren Falkirk Community Trust Donna Easton South of Scotland Destination Alliance Will Haegeland Lanarkshire Tourism Association Mark Calpin Venture North Ellie Lamont

Invited Guests: Crieff Hydro Ltd / STA Chair Stephen Leckie Jonathan Ferrier Fishers Services Ltd / STA Board Scott Inglis VisitScotland Vicki Miller

Note of Meeting

1. Introduction Marc Crothall welcomed everyone and thanked them for joining, particularly those who hadn’t joined the Forum before, including Local Authority representatives.

It was noted that the Hospitality Forum and the Tourism Sector Forum had been held on Monday 26th and was attended by Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Willie Rennie MSP, and member of the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Parliamentary Committee, Claire Baker MSP and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, Oliver Mundell MSP, as well as officials from the Scottish Government Tourism Team.

It was also noted that since the First Minister’s announcement of the new framework at the end of last week the STA, along with representatives of other trade bodies, has been engaged in ongoing discussions about the detail of the framework with Scottish Government Officials and Mr Ewing.

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2. Cabinet Secretary Introduction Mr Ewing thanked the STA for bringing the DMO’s together and recognised the important work that DMOs do throughout the country.

Mr Ewing acknowledged the incredibly difficult time that everyone was going through and the particular difficulties that businesses are facing in this unwelcome comeback of the virus. It was noted that none of the restrictions currently being imposed have been done so lightly, they’ve been done only where absolutely necessary and only on the basis of expert advice. Mr Ewing explained that the new framework, which will be debated in Parliament this afternoon, will allow for a more flexible approach to restrictions. Mr Ewing emphasised that he always makes sure that the tourism voice is heard in Cabinet.

Finally Mr Ewing commented that he hoped that the Task Force recommendations will be considered seriously, by the Scottish government and the UK government and that by working together constructively the interests of tourism will not be forgotten and that long term action will be taken to allow the sector to move toward recovery as soon as it can.

3. Round Table Destination Updates Outer Hebrides Tourism – Rob McKinnon  Overall faired less badly than many places.  Busy season, c.50% of normal season, reflected lower capacity on ferries and accommodation.  Demand is now falling away due to COVID restrictions and seasonal factors.  An area which caused problems was camping. An increase in the number of motorhomes caused problems for an anxious community and in addition the facilities weren’t there to manage the increase. This problem needs to be fixed before next season.  Concern that B&Bs are being lost and therefore capacity is disappearing.  Hotels are struggling as their regular winter business isn’t there – no business travelers.  Restaurants are really struggling however keeping the food offering going will be important.  It has been difficult to separate visitors from their money, less eating out, some indoor visitor experiences have been closed and some outdoor activities e.g. St Kilda haven’t been operating.  Going forward there is concern that the management of the travel restrictions between the islands and the mainland is seen as being over simplified, it will take careful planning to implement this system.  Local recovery plan reflects 6 themes: - Stronger digital presence - Delivering Islands Growth Deal - Community Engagement - Off-season demand - Food & Drink Offer - Infrastructure Constraints

Visit Moray & Speyside – Laurie Piper  Up and down season, however, not fared quite as badly as destinations with a larger sector of hotels – we are primarily self-catering led.

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 At the beginning it was hard but self-catering bounced back really strongly and hotels were reporting 60%- 65% occupancy and things were looking relatively hopeful until a couple of weeks ago.  Demand has now fallen off a cliff. Self-catering bookings have collapsed and it looks very bleak.  Key ask of the region - 6pm restriction is causing huge pain – can something be done to change this.  Resilient region but also a fledgling region on the national and international stage, very hard that after 6 years of record tourism growth and at the start of a second tourism BID we are not looking at the bright future we would have hoped for.  There are a number of tourism operators who have managed to secure government funding and they are grateful for that and pass their thanks to Mr Ewing for being available and amenable and to the STA and other partners for keeping our voice heard.  Visit Moray Speyside is the second tourism BID, we can get through this year, but for a BID due to issue its second year levies in April that is where the problem lies, we will not be able to issue levies to businesses who have no money.

Argyll & Isles Tourism - Iain Jurgensen  Thanks to the STA team and to Fergus Ewing for listening.  Mixed picture from Argyll. Some areas have done well and come back strongly.  Mixed trepidation about the next 6 months in terms of which zones we end up in, there may be opportunities within that, some businesses may fare quite well over the winter if the right climate are enabled by restriction and what the consumer wants  We are hopeful however this could be helped further by the following: - Messaging around the Rest and be thankful – an ‘open’ message - Winter ferry capacity – Important to keep an eye on demand and consider being more nimble to enable more visitors to access the islands if the demand is there.  As we move into winter, digital platforms become interesting for education and training to upskill the workforce in advance of the next season.  Argyll remains determined and resilient to move forward there are various activities taking place under the strapline Argyll going the extra mile - Taste of Place Trails - West Coast Waters - The Caledonia Way and Sustainable Tourism around Loch Awe - Digital Innovation  Argyll is well placed, however it is recognised that there are huge challenges ahead. We would always appeal for more lead time for the changes this would be very useful in terms of scheduling and rota planning and to give the boots on the ground the information they need.

Edinburgh Tourism Action Group – Donald Emslie  The briefing paper submitted in advance of the Forum gives the background and context of the catastrophic impact that COVID-19 has had on tourism in Edinburgh.  An earlier estimate was that £1bn of visitor spend would be extinguished however it is now anticipated that it will be much more than that.  The winter is looking very bleak as job losses and business failures are accelerating  ETAG tries to gather data and evidence to support arguments, data captured yesterday highlights: - Edinburgh Hotels Association – close to 1,200 hotel job losses, 5 hotels are still closed.

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- Redundancies at Royal Yacht Britannia, Scotch Whisky Experience, Palace of Holyrood House, Mercat Tours, NTS and the airport - Heading towards 2,000 job losses in the city of Edinburgh  ETAG have identified 3 strategic challenges that need to be faced: 1. A change in mindset that Edinburgh Tourism will be OK and it will bounce back. City based tourism economies will really struggle to come back, they rely on international visitors, business tourism as well as UK domestic tourism. Edinburgh in particular with its focus on festivals and conferences is particularly hard hit. Statistics from July and August shows Edinburgh city centre had 2m fewer visitors than last year, in September that was 1m less. Passengers through Edinburgh airport in September was 1m less. COVID has set Edinburgh back 10 years. 2. Another mindset change – change in focus – all of the work being done has been around what do we do post COVID, the shift in focus needs to be to, what do we do to live with COVID – this change will impact the decisions that are taken. The Tier system should help with this. 3. There is a need to look at how Edinburgh will be supported. The tourism strategy and the Task Force report both recognise the importance of city based tourism. The Task Force report recognises that the cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen are particularly badly affected and that there was a concern about Edinburgh as a gateway city and if it doesn’t work then the ripple effects can go right across Scotland. This needs to be considered. SoSE and HIE are investing significant money to help destination marketing and although the Task Force report highlights the importance of Edinburgh there is no support coming through SE to support the tourism industry across the central belt.

South of Scotland Destination Alliance – David Ibbotson  The south of Scotland has not been recognised as a tourism product within Scotland  The formation of the SSDA has provided an opportunity to be seen as a destination in its own right  The south of Scotland has been sandwiched between the central belt and the Lake District and has been forgotten about for the last 20 years, (4% growth in last 10 years, only in the last 3 years began to see growth in visitor numbers and spend).  14 million people within one hours drive  In the most recent period over the summer where we have been able to generate business we have seen occupancy of 70%-80% within the region – shown the region what we can do when we focus on tourism.  In the last 3 weeks we have hit a brick wall driven by: - Reduction in alcohol consumption - Lack of clarity in the lockdown measures. Different restrictions in the central belt to those restrictions in the Lake District. This has meant that the business that the region was beginning to attract has retreated back to the Lake District. - Guests are confused about restriction levels and this has caused a massive loss of business.  Over the last 3 weeks occupancy between 20%-40%. November occupancy now forecast at 35%.  As a DMO we’ve been doing surveys to find out what the industry want. Key recommendation is funding and financial support to get through the winter.

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4. Cabinet Secretary Closing Comments Mr Ewing thanked everyone for their brief summaries and responded with the following comments:  Camping, campervans and pressure spots – This was a Task Force consideration. There is a need to provide better facilities for toilets, litter and overnight parking. Forest Enterprise are stepping up to the plate where they have properties in many parts of the country however there is a need to go beyond that and extend the Rural Infrastructure Fund which has c. £3m per year. Mr Ewing will continue to press on this fund. In addition the private sector farmers and crofters could play a role here in providing more facilities.  Travel restrictions – Scottish Government officials to pursue off line with Rob McKinnon.  Moray – It was recognised that Moray is upping its game in tourism. Self-catering is extremely important, as is caravan parks also. Longer term the future for self-catering and caravans is reasonably promising as in many parts of Scotland however there is a need to recognize the financial difficulties that COVID is causing and in particular the 6pm restriction which causes real problems.  BID Levies – It was appreciated that there will be a dwindling revenue base to draw from and that is something that HIE should consider further.  Funding support from SE – Mr Ewing pointed out that he would raise with SE the financial point made by Donald Emslie, i.e. HIE and SoSE have both stepped up to the plate but that hasn’t been matched by commensurate provision by SE. Mr Ewing will pursue that directly with SE and asked Scottish Government officials to set up a call with the interim CEO of SE. Mr Ewing advised officials to discuss with Donald Emslie and Glasgow offline. Mr Ewing highlighted that the points raised by Donald were well made and needed to be pursued after this call.  Rest and Be Thankful – Mr Ewing advised that every member of Cabinet was aware that the situation with the Rest and Be Thankful is a national priority. The emergency here is recognised as is the need to get the messaging right. Officials on the call were asked to make this point and check the messaging.  Training and Upskilling – The Task Force have taken the importance of this onboard. It was acknowledged that now may be a good time to upskill. It was noted that action is being taken in this area however Mr Ewing needed an update on how this was progressing because it does take time to organise these things.  South of Scotland – Mr Ewing acknowledged that the differences in restrictions were most likely to impact the south of Scotland and commented that the points made by David Ibbotson were well made. It was noted that the SOSE Board, which includes many tourism interests, has reached out to industry, particularly the larger employers. It was noted that SoSE has been supportive of the DMO and will continue to do so. Mr Ewing advised that he keeps a close interest in the operations of the South of Scotland and also works closely with the local authorities, Borders and Dumfries & Galloway.

Mr Ewing advised that he was writing to the UK government following up on the Task Force recommendation for a UK tourism summit, the letter to Nigel Huddleston was signed off today recommending a UK tourism summit which would ensure tourism issues are kept on the agenda.

Mr Ewing acknowledged that he wasn’t able to respond to all the points raised and advised members to follow up after the call. The call was seen to be very helpful and informative and Mr Ewing noted his appreciation of the kind remarks regarding financial assistance. It was highlighted that the PERF did not have a parallel fund in England, this capital fund under PERF was not matched in England and it is acknowledged that it has been appreciated by many companies and the larger hotel fund has helped the largest employers. Mr Ewing noted that he was conscious that some people will have lost out or fallen through the cracks and therefore it is still

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seen as unfinished business. Mr Ewing asked DMO members to highlight to him if there are examples of where businesses have lost out and while a solution can’t be guaranteed at least MR Ewing can try to resolve.

Mr Ewing noted that he was pleased that the UK responded to the furlough scheme however it may not be enough to help some businesses because it’s not quite as generous as the original scheme.

Finally Mr Ewing offered to meet again when required.

Before Mr Ewing left the call Marc highlighted a number of issues that had been raised by DMO members.  Short Term Lets – A letter was published today by Fiona Campbell supported by a number of business associations not just tourism bodies which hopefully should stop that process  Destination marketing support for the cities  Northlink ferries current decision to not accept or cancel group bookings on their routes and there is concern that Calmac may adopt the same approach, there hasn’t been any consultation with industry per se. It was noted that all questions had been submitted in advance of the meeting and if Mr Ewing could review the questions and come back with a response that would be appreciated.

5. General Update  Short Term Lets – The STA supported the ASSC to gather the additional support for their letter from CBI, Scottish Chambers, SCDI, the Retail Consortium, Food & Drink, there are now c. 35-40 signatories on the letter and it was noted that it would be hugely disappointing if the Scottish Government choose to ignore it and pursue the short term let regulations. It was also highlighted that Mr Ewing supports the letter and in addition one of the Task Force recommendations is not to accelerate unnecessary regulation at this moment time as we are still facing COVID  DMO support – This is included in the recovery recommendations. It was highlighted however that the published version is a condensed version, there is a much more detailed set of recommendations that will go to Cabinet in the next couple of weeks.  Task Force Report – The report has been shared with UK Ministers and the key message is that partnership working across UK and Scottish government is essential. It was also noted that within the report there are asks of industry too. Ultimately this report will segue us back to Scotland Outlook 2030 the national tourism strategy.

6. VisitScotland Update (Presentation circulated with Note of Meeting)  Vicki Miller, Director of Marketing & Digital provided an update on recent marketing activity, talked about the challenges being faced as a result of the new restrictions and what that means for the timeline of some of the activity. A snapshot of some of the results of activity to date was also provided. For detail please refer to the presentation.  A couple of questions were raised by members covered the following: Q. Are there opportunities for DMOs to be involved in the Scotland Reconnect 2020 event in November? A. There will be an opportunity for recorded content and presentations as part of the programme which will allow destinations to feature as part of it. Q. Local marketing needs to be more agile and everything has to be on the basis that it can be dialled back

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with little notice if rules change. Is there a potential financial impact on some traditional media businesses or some with a longer lead? Are additional media costs being incurred due to the flexibility needed to respond to changes in restrictions? A. Most definitely an impact on more traditional media as it doesn't offer the same flexibility in terms of changing the message/creative or targeting in the same way digital channels can. When VS negotiated with their media partners it was on the basis that they could be agile and switch off and restart when needed. Through monitoring results of activity for example on paid social there is flexibility to adjust activity or pause.  If any further information is required or there are any additional questions then members should be email Vicki directly. [email protected]

7. Scottish Tourism Recovery Task Force Report Marc further updated members on the Task Force recovery recommendations which were published on 23rd October. The report has been broken into three areas:

1. Stimulating Demand, led by Malcolm Roughead, there are a number of recommendations there including increasing the marketing pot to be able to be agile to drive demand and be competitive.

2. Investment, led by Malcolm Buchanan, here the recommendations suggest a bold increase in the funds available for the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund to support infrastructure and enable some of our rural destinations to be more accessible. In addition, for businesses, there is also an ask to try and find ways to better facilitate liquidity into business so that they can continue to invest in their assets.

3. Business & Workforce Recovery, here the recommendations reflect what industry have already been pushing for, continuation of VAT reduction beyond March 2021, business rates holiday for a further year, reconsideration of the policy to abolish Duty Free taxation in the UK, temporary removal of APD to boost route competitiveness and most importantly grants to be made available to both businesses who are already trading but are impacted by restrictions and businesses who haven’t been able to trade at all.

It was noted that the report has the full support of Fergus Ewing and as well as the 40 business leaders who were on the Task Force

8. Scottish Government Framework - Update Marc updated members on recent discussions which have taken place with the Scottish government on the tier system particularly on the hospitality sector. The following points were noted:  Licensing and restrictions on alcohol consumption has been one of the most damaging restrictions which is stopping people from visiting destinations. It was noted that it’s not about the lost revenue on the sale of a bottle of wine but about the wider impact this is causing such as direct cancellations in accommodation bookings which then leads to cancellations for outdoor adventure activities, visitor attractions – it affects everybody.

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 The Scottish Licensed Trade Association, UKHospitality, Scottish Beer & Pub Association, Scottish Hospitality Group and the Scottish Tourism Alliance have been engaged with Liz Ditchburn, Director-General Economy, senior civil servants and the Cabinet Secretary over the course of Friday, Saturday and Monday, to discuss possible recommendations on the kind of flexibility that could be built into the current central belt restrictions to make hospitality more accessible in the new tier structure. It was noted that it was very late in the day to be consulting with industry. Recommendations were however put forward by the trade bodies on how they could improve and mitigate risk, providing reassurance to the medical experts. It was noted that there was an appetite over the coming weeks to find more accommodating solutions. In addition a matrix was put forward which shows the impacts of grants on business viability.  Clarity and communication of travel restrictions is critical. Businesses and visitors need to know where they can and can’t travel to.  The importance of having grants paid as quickly as possible to businesses by local authorities is essential and this has been emphasised to government.  A strong recommendation has been made that Environmental Health Officers are boosted, more EHO support is needed and more direct enforcement is required where businesses are not complying with regulations.

9. Destination Management Companies – Update Joss Croft, UKInbound provided an update on recent discussions with DMCs. The following points were noted.  UKInbound has worked with STA, SDMA and SIGTOA to survey DMCs. 91 responses were received including 23 from Scottish based DMCs, 79 from UK based DMCs who sell Scotland.  Survey results showed that Scottish based DMCs expect their turnover to decline by 89% vs last year. It is a very difficult situation for these DMCs as many have been unable to pivot to the domestic market and some of the support packages that have been put in place by either the UK or Scottish government haven’t assisted them, e.g. VAT reduction or Eat Out to Help Out.  A call is now being made to government to see if there is an opportunity for either the Scottish Government or the UK government to support these businesses through three routes: 1. The introduction of a viable testing regime to remove quarantine. This has to be a testing system that is world class and competitive to ensure the UK and Scotland is best placed to take advantage of the international demand that exists. 2. To build a mechanic that looks at the reduction in turnover of the DMCS and then overlays future operating costs for a capped grant funding system that would be available for UK registered DMCs. It’s critical for these businesses to survive in order to service future international demand, if the DMCs don’t survive through lack of support and other DMCs such as Irish DMCs do then overseas tour operators will switch destinations from the UK to Ireland or elsewhere. Positive discussions have taken place so far with Mr Ewing and this will be launched to the UK government on Monday 2nd. 3. Reversal of the UK governments exemption of tour operators from within the rates relief and grant scheme under the leisure and hospitality grant scheme whereby tour operators missed out on this in the first draft

Marc noted that the scale of importance of the tour operator community and the role that they play has potentially been misunderstood form the outset. The purpose of this current work with DMCs is to demonstrate its importance.

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10. Close of Meeting Marc Crothall thanked everyone for joining the call and for their contributions and reminded members that the STA virtual AGM will take place on Wednesday 4th November. The agenda will include the formal AGM proceedings however it will be followed by the opportunity to discuss the Task Force report in more detail.

6. Next Meeting An additional STA Destination Member Forum with the Cabinet Secretary has been scheduled for Thursday 10th December, 9.00am-10.30am. Following that, the next STA Destination Member Forum will convene on Tuesday 12th January, 11.00am- 12.30pm.

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