Business owners from across the Highlands tourism industry are learning the tricks of the trade from their Irish counterparts at an annual conference.
More than 160 delegates from across the Highland’s tourism and events industry gathered at the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness for the Highland Tourism Conference.
The event, which was last held in 2019, was jointly organised by VisitScotland and the Highland Council.
Paddy Mathews, head of Ireland’s regional tourism brand with Failte Ireland – the National Tourism Development Authority in the Republic of Ireland – took centre stage as the events keynote speaker.
He spoke about the challenges, opportunities and lessons learned in creating unique tourism brand, the Hidden Heartlands, in Irish rural communities.
In his speech, he offered advice on how businesses across the region could work together to grow tourism in a way that will benefit popular communities and increase footfall.
Transforming the Highland’s tourism industry
Mr Mathews was delighted to be able to pass on some wisdom to business owners in the Highlands.
He said: “I enjoyed sharing our experience in sustainable tourism development in the Midlands of Ireland with the delegates at this year’s Highland Tourism Conference.
“The Hidden Heartlands brand is quite young and we are a visitor destination at an early stage in our maturity, so we are focused on raising consumer awareness of the region, building the range and quality of visitor experiences, establishing strong industry coalitions and ensuring that we do all of this in a sustainable manner.
“We have a particular focus on regenerative tourism in our region which seeks to make tourism work for local communities and nature.
“It was great to engage with conference delegates on these issues and to hear about the challenges the tourism industry is facing in the Scottish Highlands and how it is addressing them.”
The annual conference featured a series of presentations, workshops and exhibitions from a range of organisations and experienced industry professionals offering insights and solutions to help businesses increase visitor numbers and enhance the visitor experience.
Chris Taylor, VisitScotland regional leadership director, said: “Scotland has much in common with Ireland – stunning scenery, hills and waterways, rural communities and similar challenges and opportunities. Paddy’s experience with Hidden Heartlands offered a fresh perspective on how we can make the most of these opportunities.
“Responsible tourism and sustainable tourism remain high on the agenda, with increasing evidence and insight to support the unique experiences and products that visitors are looking for during their stay in the Highlands.
“However, this needs to be sensitively balanced amid the current cost challenges.”
Conversation