Hansard

I discovered this Dark Island ale, which looked like a pint of Guinness to me, but I am told on good authority that it is well worth trying.

On the point about workforce retention, skills and customer service, there is sometimes an attitude in the Highlands that is almost as if people are in service, when in fact they are public servants. Many people provide excellent customer service, but it is for hotel owners and others in the tourism industry to ensure that staff are well trained—as I know they do—and to value those staff.

I have one good story and a second one that is a could-do-better. The good news story is on the whisky industry, which I again commend for its incredible contribution to the Scottish economy and in particular its contribution to tourism. More than half the distilleries in Scotland have visitor centres, the majority of which are four-star attractions. The distilleries attract 1.3 million visitors, 87 per cent of whom come from outside Scotland and 62 per cent from outside the UK. In 2010, £27 million was spent. Distilleries provide 640 jobs in the visitor centres and more than £30 million in value to our economy. On average, for every £100 million of Scotch whisky exports, there is an associated £20 million spend directly on tourism.

Starting in November, there will be an exhibition in the Parliament’s main hall for almost three months to mark the 100th anniversary of the Scotch Whisky Association. At last week’s meeting of the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on Scotch whisky, which I was delighted to see was attended by many civil servants, we had a presentation from Ian Urquhart of Gordon and MacPhail in Elgin on the spirit of Speyside whisky festival.

Given that it has more than 50 per cent of malt distilleries, Moray is very well placed to host this four-day festival with 350 events that include wildlife and whisky walks, a “Dramble along the Spey” and “A Bacon Roll and Four Nips”. There is something for everyone at all times of the day and night. Eighty per cent of visitors stay for at least four nights and the festival is an excellent example of local distilleries, local businesses and people working together.

The second issue that I want to raise is walkers in Scotland. I do not think that those particular visitors are valued as highly as they should be; in fact, climbers, cyclists and walkers have considerable spending power and prefer to see and experience Scotland by walking, climbing or cycling rather than through city breaks at our excellent hotels and other accommodation. That market has enormous potential and should not be overlooked.

However, when I was in Lairg at the weekend, I was told that they are taking bookings from walkers from various European countries, who were also asking about the accommodation and shops along the 70-mile Sutherland trail from Lochinver to Tongue. As the minister knows, there might be excellent accommodation in both Tongue and Lochinver, as well as Inchnadamph Lodge, which is less than a kilometre from the trail, but unlike the west Highland way and the Speyside way there are no shops, services, hotels or bed and breakfasts along the trail. I am also concerned at the way in which this stunning trail along the old drover roads, which is highlighted on many websites and has been developed by Cameron McNeish, does not even register on the VisitScotland website. In fact, searching that website for the Sutherland trail brings up only two results, both to do with a flat in Talmine.

Moreover, anyone who starts the walk from Lairg has to get to Lochinver or Tongue first. When someone phones up the hotel in Lairg and asks for travel to Lochinver to be arranged, the people at the hotel have to tell them, “Well, there used to be a post bus, but it doesn’t run anymore”. There is now a post van, but I would not recommend huddling in the back among the letters. The councillor in north-west Sutherland also confirmed to me that all the community councils in the region are dissatisfied with the way in which VisitScotland constantly ignores the area.

The new Hebridean way will run 203 miles from the Butt of Lewis to Vatersay. Funding has been secured for that project, but I ask the minister to ensure that when these fabulous, stunning and amazing walks come on-stream in Scotland VisitScotland gets involved, helps to market them, provides advice about accommodation and so on. I am sorry to say that such support is not available at the moment.

Given that parts of the Highlands of Scotland remain the last areas of wilderness in Europe, we should be able to manage and support visitors—the hill walkers, the climbers and the cyclists who will use these huge new walks of 70 and 203 miles apiece—and make them feel welcome and safe as they enjoy our stunning scenery and hospitality. I ask the minister to ask VisitScotland to talk and listen to people in north-west Sutherland and to support the walks as well as the tourists, who do not all want to stay in four-star hotels.

I move amendment S4M-03400.3, to leave out from “renews” to end and insert:

“recognises the enormous opportunity for tourism in Scotland presented by The Winning Years and the Disney/Pixar film, Brave, in particular; congratulates Glasgow on its success in winning several additional conferences with the support of the Conference Bid Fund announced in March 2012; encourages other destinations in Scotland to use the fund to win further business for Scotland; calls on the Scottish Government to use the powers currently at its disposal to establish an air route development fund and to examine how the business rates system could be used in order to assist the tourist sector, and believes that there needs to be a substantial change to tackle the skills disconnect between employers and employees and help to ensure that tourism is seen as an attractive career.”