2. As part of a restructuring process which saw the old Scottish Tourist Board transformed into VisitScotland, the Scottish Executive consulted on the future of Area Tourist Boards (ATBs) in 2003. Whatever they thought about the future of the ATB structure, most consultees stressed the need for better integration between national tourism strategies and their delivery locally. Accordingly, the Minster for Tourism Culture and Sport announced in March 2004 that the 14 Scottish Area Tourist Boards would be merged with VisitScotland to create an integrated tourism network for Scotland, better able than the previous ATB structure to respond quickly to changes in the tourism market. This was part of a package of measures to stimulate strong growth in Scottish tourism, including additional marketing funding for VisitScotland. The ambition is to work with the industry and other public sector partners to increase tourism revenues by 50% by 2015.
3. The Executive commissioned VisitScotland, to design and deliver, under the leadership of the Executive, an integrated tourism network. A project team involving over 100 people from ATBs, tourism businesses, local authorities and COSLA, the STUC, VisitScotland and the Executive was set up to do this. The network design was summarised in the Tourism Network Implementation Framework Document published in November 2004, and on 1 April 2005 the VisitScotland integrated tourism network began to operate.
4. However because of the statutory requirement that there will be area tourist boards in Scotland, the legal structure of VisitScotland currently comprises two Network Area Tourist Boards (to which the staff, assets and liabilities of the ATBs were transferred) and the Scottish Tourist Board (known as and operating as VisitScotland). The Tourism (Scotland) Bill is intended to enable VisitScotland to become a single legal entity.
5. The current legislation governing the setting up and dissolution of ATBs is the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994. It is that Act which states that there will be ATBs in Scotland. The Act also gives Scottish Ministers the powers to wind up an ATB and to amend or revoke the schemes which set up the original ATBs. In order to make progress quickly, these powers were used by Ministers last year with the consent of Parliament as a basis for the 2 Scottish Statutory Instruments which wound up the 14 previous ATBs from 1 April 2005 and set up 2 new "network" ATBs, to which the staff, assets and liabilities of the ATBs were transferred in April. These two network ATBs, which are operationally part of VisitScotland, provide the legal basis of the integrated VisitScotland tourism network until primary legislation can be brought in.
6. The primary legislation now proposed is needed to wind up these network ATBs and enable the new tourism network to be set up as a single legal entity called VisitScotland.
The two network ATBs
7. The two network ATBs came into being on 1 April 2005 and can be seen as something of a stepping stone to enable the tourism network to begin operations relatively quickly, building on the expertise, staff and assets of the previous ATBs. The network ATBs are not however visible on the ground to visitors and customers, who simply see VisitScotland as an integrated entity.
8. Network 1 Tourist Board covers the south of Scotland namely the local government areas of City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian, Dumfries and Galloway, City of Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, Scottish Borders, East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire. Network 1 Tourist Board replaced 5 ATBs - Edinburgh and Lothians; Dumfries and Galloway; Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley; the Scottish Borders; and Ayrshire and Arran.
9. Network 2 Tourist Board covers the north of Scotland, namely the local government areas of Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, Moray, Angus, Dundee City, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, West Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Stirling, Highland, Fife, the Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, the Shetland Islands and Na-h-Eileanan an Iar. Network 2 Tourist Board replaced 9 ATBS - Aberdeen and Grampian; Angus and City of Dundee; Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and Trossachs; Highlands and Islands; Kingdom of Fife; Orkney; Perthshire; Shetland; and Western Isles.
10. The Board members of Network Tourist Boards are the Board members of VisitScotland (or the Scottish Tourist Board to use its legal name). In order to enable the integrated tourism network to function as a single entity, the Boards of the two Network Tourist Boards transferred their assets and liabilities to the Scottish Tourist Board, albeit with an assurance that any unexpended ATB reserves as at April 2005 will be used solely for the benefit of tourism in that ATB area. However, that situation is not satisfactory in the long term. Currently there are three separate legal entities making up VisitScotland, and the policy intention is that there should be a single entity.