Caithness and Sutherland tourism gathering hailed as ‘very positive’
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Tourism operators in the north Highlands have described a conference examining trends and opportunities in the sector as “very positive” and “so valuable”.
Venture North’s annual tourism gathering in Wick last week featured industry experts from national organisations as well as representatives from businesses and community groups working in Caithness and Sutherland.
Seventy people attended the event in Mackays Hotel ahead of the summer visitor season. After a series of presentations, breakout groups focused on a range of industry-related topics.
Community-led tourism was an important theme. Representatives from Wick Development Trust, John O’Groats Mill Trust and John O’Groats Development Trust gave updates on community tourism initiatives in Caithness, with NatureScot and the North West Highland Geopark looking at the prospects for responsible tourism and collaborations with Unesco status.
Trudy Morris, chief executive of Caithness Chamber of Commerce, spoke about career opportunities for young people in tourism and hospitality.
Wick couple William and Adelaine Munro, who run Caithness Seacoast boat tours, praised the “very positive atmosphere” at the conference.
“It was great to see such a diverse range of tourism service providers and an abundance of experience,” Mr Munro said.
“We particularly liked hearing about the focus on young people joining the tourism industry. As a result, we approached Developing the Young Workforce North Highland and have signed up to provide marine tourism experience to interested high school pupils.”
Fiona Saywell, geopark manager for the North West Highlands Geopark, said: “I have at least three new contacts from the networking, with multiple pieces of information and possible routes to follow up on for future and existing work.
“Having opportunities through co-leading the afternoon breakout groups to find out what tourism providers think, know and want to know about the North West Highlands Geopark was so valuable.”
Venture North is the destination management organisation for Caithness and Sutherland, promoting responsible and sustainable tourism.
Cathy Earnshaw, destination strategy manager for Venture North, opened the day by outlining the organisation’s key strategic activities in delivering the Tourism Strategy for Caithness and Sutherland 2021-24.
As reported last week, speakers included Marc Crothall MBE, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, and Chris Taylor, VisitScotland’s destination development director for the Highlands and Islands.
The Venture North tourism gathering was sponsored by Caithness Chamber of Commerce and Developing the Young Workforce North Highland, with support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, NRS Dounreay and VisitScotland.
Dounreay’s socio-economics manager Magnus Davidson said: “NRS Dounreay is pleased to be working with Venture North to help promote responsible and sustainable community-led tourism in the north Highlands, and building valuable partnerships to boost a collective voice is crucial in doing this effectively.”
