Holyrood 2026: Scotland’s Tourism Manifesto Calls For Strategic Investments And Policy Reforms To Boost Global Competitiveness

Published on October 3, 2025

In bid to guarantee nan endurance of Scotland’s tourism sector, which is worthy almost £17 cardinal a year, nan Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) has released its Holyrood 2026 Manifesto. The manifesto lists nan apical priorities that will support Scotland’s semipermanent economical growth, summation its entreaty arsenic a apical recreation destination, and thief it stay globally competitive.

The STA emphasizes really captious it is that manufacture and authorities stakeholders collaborate arsenic Scotland moves into nan past shape of its nationalist tourism strategy, Scotland Outlook 2030. By nan extremity of nan upcoming Parliament, nan extremity is to firmly found Scotland arsenic a apical recreation destination worldwide.

Developed pinch feedback from companies successful Scotland’s tourism and hospitality industries, nan STA’s extended manifesto lays retired cardinal strategies pinch an accent connected semipermanent maturation and sustainability. It emphasizes really important it is to alteration policies, upgrade infrastructure, and person a workforce that tin grip nan rising demands of modern tourism.

Scotland’s Tourism Industry astatine a Crossroads

Tourism has agelong been a cornerstone of nan Scottish economy, contributing importantly to some section and nationalist prosperity. However, nan STA warns that contempt world success, Scotland’s tourism manufacture faces mounting challenges. In 2024, Scotland saw a notable alteration of 1.4 cardinal home trips, marking a worrying inclination for nan sector. This diminution has been attributed to respective factors, including rising operational costs, expanding title from different world destinations, and regulatory burdens.

While world tourism continues to execute strongly, location is simply a pressing request to diversify visitant activity beyond Edinburgh and into Scotland’s agrarian and land communities. The manifesto stresses nan value of amended dispersing visitors passim Scotland, peculiarly during nan enarthrosis seasons, to support much balanced economical maturation and section business sustainability.

Rising business costs, including higher National Insurance contributions and recruitment challenges, proceed to put unit connected businesses, making it much difficult for them to stay competitive. The STA argues that, without contiguous action, Scotland risks losing crushed to different world destinations that connection amended value, infrastructure, and wide visitant experience.

Key Asks for Political Leaders

The STA’s Holyrood 2026 manifesto presents respective cardinal asks for governmental leaders to see arsenic they scheme for nan early of Scotland’s tourism sector. One of nan cardinal demands is nan creation of a dedicated Cabinet Secretary aliases Minister domiciled for tourism and hospitality. This position would champion nan assemblage crossed authorities portfolios and supply a clear, strategical sound for nan industry. Additionally, nan STA calls for ring-fenced backing to support nan transportation of Scotland’s nationalist tourism strategy, Scotland Outlook 2030.

The manifesto besides advocates for argumentation reforms, peculiarly successful nan areas of readying and business rates. By reforming these areas, nan STA believes that Scotland tin foster a much conducive situation for tourism businesses, helping them thrive and stay competitive.

Another cardinal privilege is empowering and investing successful basal organisations specified arsenic VisitScotland, EventScotland, and Destination Management Organisations (DMOs). Sustainable backing models are needed to support these bodies successful their roles arsenic catalysts for tourism growth.

Connecting Scotland: Infrastructure and Digital Transformation

The manifesto highlights nan captious domiciled that carrier and integer infrastructure will play successful Scotland’s early tourism success. With increasing title from different destinations, nan STA calls for important finance successful modernising Scotland’s carrier network. This includes aligning caller carrier and integer infrastructure projects pinch nationalist and location maturation priorities, ensuring that nan tourism assemblage benefits from seamless connectivity.

A circumstantial attraction is placed connected aviation, pinch nan STA urging nan Scottish authorities to support nan maturation of nan aviation manufacture done much formation way improvement and finance successful decarbonisation. They urge exploring nan imaginable for sustainable aviation substance accumulation astatine Grangemouth, which would not only trim Scotland’s c footprint but besides thief unafraid semipermanent finance successful nan sector.

The manifesto calls for amended coordination crossed carrier networks, including nan implementation of smart ticketing systems and improved disruption management. This would guarantee a smoother, much enjoyable recreation acquisition for visitors, making Scotland an moreover much charismatic destination.

Investing successful Jobs and Future Growth

Another captious facet of nan STA’s manifesto is nan attraction connected investing successful jobs and early growth. Tourism successful Scotland straight supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, peculiarly successful agrarian and land communities. The STA is calling for targeted support to create a Scottish Tourism & Hospitality Growth Plan, which would thief align manufacture needs pinch authorities support.

The manifesto besides urges nan Scottish authorities to activity intimately pinch nan Scottish National Investment Bank to unafraid backing for awesome tourism and hospitality infrastructure projects. This would maximize Scotland’s competitory separator and heighten its domiciled arsenic a cardinal export industry.

In addition, nan STA advocates for grants, match-funding opportunities, and interest-free loans to thief tourism and hospitality businesses go much environmentally sustainable. Regenerating and enriching section communities done finance successful workforce improvement and affordable lodging is besides a cardinal ask, ensuring that tourism not only drives economical maturation but besides creates lasting affirmative impacts for communities crossed Scotland.

Embracing Innovation and Future Technologies

As portion of its imagination for nan future, nan STA calls for greater support for invention wrong nan tourism sector. This includes investing successful emerging technologies specified arsenic artificial intelligence (AI), information collection, and integer transformation. The manifesto proposes nan creation of a Tourism & Hospitality Future Innovation Fund, aimed astatine driving invention done partnerships pinch organisations for illustration Interface.

Enhanced nationalist information postulation is besides a privilege to guarantee that decisions are evidence-led and based connected nan astir up-to-date insights. The STA argues that Scotland must proceed to germinate and adopt caller technologies to stay astatine nan forefront of nan world tourism industry.

Protecting Scotland’s Tourism Asset

Scotland’s tourism manufacture is confronted pinch some formidable obstacles and breathtaking prospects. A scheme for resolving these issues and guaranteeing that Scotland continues to beryllium a apical recreation destination successful nan world is provided successful nan STA’s Holyrood 2026 manifesto. Scotland’s tourism assemblage has nan imaginable to prosper for galore generations to travel pinch nan correct investments successful workforce development, innovation, and infrastructure.

Before it’s excessively late, nan STA is urging governmental leaders to enactment decisively and make investments successful Scotland’s tourism industry. Scotland will proceed to thrive arsenic a apical world recreation destination, fostering economical growth, generating employment, and improving communities each passim nan federation if nan correct decisions are made successful nan upcoming years.