Scotland welcomes tourism minister

Scotland's tourist industry has welcomed the appointment of Mike Watson as the country's first tourism minister.

But concerns have been raised about what happens next.

VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board, was pleased with the enhanced status of tourism in the Scottish cabinet. It said Watson's role as designated minister for tourism, culture and sport was "in line with the long-held demands of the Scottish tourism industry".

At a tourism conference in Scotland last month, 85.8% of the 800 delegates said they wanted a tourism minister (Caterer, 22 November, page 10).

The Scottish Tourism Forum said it was crucial that Watson and enterprise minister Wendy Alexander worked together.

In a dramatic reshuffle of the Scottish Executive last week, in which new first minister Jack McConnell sacked one third of the cabinet, Alexander lost responsibility for tourism.

A spokesman for the forum said: "The most serious Scottish Executive challenge is to ensure that tourism is taken seriously by transport, rural affairs and local government and finance ministries. Tourism must not be marginalised by the enterprise agencies."

Another concern was the possibility that Watson would alienate the rural community, given that he sponsored a private bill to ban fox-hunting.

Laurence Young, chairman of the British Hospitality Association in Scotland, said: "Foot-and-mouth showed us that the interests of the countryside and tourism are closely aligned. Much of Scottish tourism is about rural access. We need landowners to be on our side."

Watson has not yet spoken publicly about his plans for tourism in Scotland.

by Ben Walker