11. At present the size of the VisitScotland Board is statutorily limited to 7 members. Given VisitScotland's increased scale and remit through the tourism network, its Board now needs to include expertise in local authority interests to reflect the strong engagement of local authorities in the tourism network structure. It is proposed to increase the statutory limit on the size of the Board to a maximum of 12 members to enable this to happen.
Benefits of the integrated tourism network
12. The integrated network has brought together local, national and international marketing, information, quality assurance and product development services. It builds on the skills and expertise of the 14 previous Area Tourist Boards and VisitScotland. The priority of the staff in the offices across the tourism network since it came into operation on 1 April 2005 has been to provide high quality information to visitors, and to work closely with tourism related businesses of all kinds, helping them to grow by linking directly with national and local marketing and quality strategies, and by offering commercially attractive marketing and other opportunities. Each of the 14 VisitScotland area offices has delegated powers and budgets to respond to circumstances in its own area, and at least 80% of industry engagement by VisitScotland is being delivered through them.
Next Steps
13. Primary legislation is now needed to abolish the network ATBs and to create VisitScotland as a single legal entity.