Press release -
VisitScotland hosts Malawi
The work of VisitScotland is set to inspire the Malawi tourism industry, as the national tourism body hosts representatives from the African nation for the first time today (Monday, 9 November).
A delegation of Malawi Government officials, including Director of Tourism, Patricia Liabuba, attended VisitScotland headquarters in Ocean Point in Leith, Edinburgh.
There they met with Chief Executive, Malcolm Roughead, and other senior VisitScotland representatives who gave an overview of the work of Scotland’s national tourism organisation. VisitScotland has also organised an itinerary for the delegation to give them a flavour of the Scottish visitor experience.
The visit coincides with the 10th anniversary of Scottish Government’s International Development partnership with the African country. The international development programme was launched in 2005 when Scotland’s then-First Minister, Lord Jack McConnell, signed a formal Co-operation Agreement with the Government of Malawi.
Whilst the programme still has a heavy centre on Scotland’s partnership with Malawi, it has since grown to include projects in other priority countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Zambia and Rwanda.
The Scottish Government is working across its Ministerial portfolios, including education, climate and water management, to support international aims, and also encourages other Scottish bodies to work in partnership with its priority countries for international development.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said:
“We are delighted to welcome our Malawian colleagues as the Scottish Government celebrates the tenth year of its international development support.
“Millions of international visitors are drawn to Scotland each year and VisitScotland is renowned for its work to improve the quality of the visitor experience whilst supporting businesses to deliver excellence across Scotland. Tourism is the heartbeat of the Scottish economy, supporting communities and creating jobs, and provides an international shop window for the country.
“We hope our guests will be inspired by hearing first-hand of the world class work carried out by VisitScotland.”
As well as VisitScotland headquarters, the Malawi delegation will also visit The Royal Yacht Britannia, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh Castle and the Scotch Whisky Experience.
- ENDS -
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- malawi
- scottish government
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
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- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Food and Drink 2015- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
