VisitScotland Changes?

I've resisted the desire to commit words over the past few days which would have resulted in a knee jerk reaction about everything that has been said and written since last weekend's revelation that Phillip Riddle's coat was hanging on a less than reinforced coat hook.

 

What is required now is not another navel gazing review of the organisation that has by default become the watchword for tourism and hospitality in Scotland but instead a root and branch appraisal of what is required to fulfill the potential of what is described as an industry but is actually a collection of businesses whose interests sometimes overlap.

The Scotsman's leader comment today was disappointing.

"WHAT is the big plan for Scottish tourism? How should the publicly funded VisitScotland lead change in the sector? And what should be the priority for VisitScotland – short-term campaigns or long-term strategy?

These are the issues that lie behind the clumsily handled news of the departure of chief executive Philip Riddle."

The opening question has validity and not only needs asked but more importantly answered. The second two unfortunately miss or perhaps even highlight the issue. VisitScotland has become seen as synonymous with Scottish Tourism and it's not. Scottish tourism is not about a bureaucratic centralised organisation and VisitScotland cannot and should not be seen to be leading change. That must be the role of businesses stepping up to the plate to meet the challenges.

As for the priority of VisitScotland? Well it must be too divest itself of all of the roles that it should not be involved in.Destination marketing has changed for ever and the recognition has not fully seeped through the ranks that they are still involved in things they shouldn't be. Tourism is fundamentally an export business and its marketing and development is no different - in broad terms at least - to any other sector trying to develop its exports.

The big picture questions about the need for such a large organisation and what in actual fact it should still be taking responsibility for is actually quite simple to analyse.

What do they do currently? Could that job be done more efficiently and effectively by someone else in either another public sector organisation or by the private sector themselves? Quality Assurance? Exhibition and Event Management? Online Room Sales? Training and Development? Website Sales to SMEs? Tourist Information Centres? Printed Material Advertising Sales?

Anyone who has worked in the areas of hospitality and tourism is well aware that the curse of the "industry" is perpetual duplication and an inherent inability to collaborate properly. It leads to investment in displacing visitors from one destination to another and therefore deflects from attracting new markets. This is not VisitScotland's fault directly but Phillip Riddle did oversee on his watch the restructuring of Scottish Tourism; a restructuring that has lead to a VisitScotland that communicates with itself better but has failed to communicate externally its aims and objectives.

VisitScotland remains as fragmented as the industry it purports to serve. It has some superbly strategic and visionary individuals within its walls who provide a superb service to Scottish tourism but even the most ardent defenders of VisitScotland must be wondering whether they may be able to perform those tasks better in a different environment.

Public sector supported destination marketing has still theoretically got a place in the marketing and product mix that is Scotland but is it different from whisky, or medical research or education? Does it need a separate organisation any more? Would it work better under as a specialist export division within a Scottish Executive department or SDI even?

The real fear is that this change in Chief Executive is just another political dogfight and little more. A change of leader rather than a change of direction? God help us.

Whatever the outcomes of the current infighting, we have to stop talking about VisitScotland and start talking about Scotland. All too often it appears that marketing campaigns are promoting the brand of VisitScotland or its.com derivative and not the destination.

It really does have to change Mr Mather.

"Tourism is Getting its Act Together" (Alledgedly)

According to the STF newsletter, "Jim Mather Minister for EET committee called for a tourism debate in Parliament last wednesday.

The Minister commented 'the industry is getting its act together, very much a leading sector and one that has importance beyond its direct economic proposition.'"

Now I'm not sure whether this is just me having another cynical moment but with the exception of limited pockets of joint marketing and development partnerships and some strong and positive collaborations it can hardly be said that Scotland's tourism industry is getting it's act together.

It is a statement of proposterous hyperbole when all you have to do is type "Scottish Tourism" into Google alerts and watch for the disfunctional, disjointed, disaggregated and duplicated projects, organisations and initiatives across the country.

What there is, is a plethora of projects taken on by positive well intentioned, motivated groups of individuals; creating DMO's, area marketing initiatives, product groupings, online marketing. But what they all have in common is that they are working in isloation; they are not as Mr Mather insists getting "their act together" in anything that even resembles strategic planning.

They are not joined up in any sense and no formal communciation flows exist neither up nor down across the sector.

Of all of the people who should not be making such statements, Mr Mather must surely be one. He can quote every management theory ever applied in business management so the simple concept of Goals Down, Plans Up is not alien to anyone who has listened to him speak around the country. He is an extremely intelligent individual with a very strong vision and apparent desire to effect change. But change needs to be an action not a discussion. And making inane statements about an industry as clearly disjointed as tourism getting its act together does little for either party.

Strategy implementation needs structure. The dismantling of the ATB network was long overdue but it was replaced with informal communications and informal communciations do not lead to co-ordinated implementation. The net result of removing formal communications was fairly predictable and Scotland's now left with a tourism organisation that can, after restructuring, talk more effectively to itself but has forgotten in large part how to absorb inbound communications.

Every time the quote claiming that this initiative or that project is another great example of how Scottish tourism is rising to the challenges of a difficult marketplace there is a counter argument running deep that would state that here we go with another duplicated project using more public funds for narrow local issues. Positive projects not fulfilling their potential abound simply because they are being developed and implemented in isolation from prospective partners across the country.

Council funded initiatives and alliances, Visitscotland Growth Fund projects, SE and HIE investments, Leader money. Lots of public money is being spent of that there can be little doubt. The argument that public money is being spent well or spent wisely is an entirely different proposition.

One thing is for certain, this fragmented public expenditure is not being spent under some grand strategic tourism plan and someone really has to step up to the mark and explain why not?

This may be an industry (it may actually be more of an eclectic group of businesses which sometimes share common markets)but it is likely to be "an industry" which over the next five years will actually face more challenges post recession than during it.

There is NO framework, there is NO clear communications structure, there is NO clear direction, there is NO clear leadership.

Strategic thinking is required to deal with future isses of supply and demand, with changes in international marketing, with product development, with structure and communications, taxation and capital investment, with mis-spending, with the role of councils in tourism, with a whole host of areas relating to tourism and hospitality.

Tourism businesses need a lot more than to be told it's getting its act together.