Unwelcome start as Host chief resigns

THEsudden resignation of the Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board's (Host's) first chief executive, Anne Mearns, after just 15 months in the job has prompted a concerned reaction from hoteliers in the region.

Edward Nicoll, owner of the Dunain Park hotel, outside Inverness, said he was worried that the latest in a series of upheavals at the fledgling board would damage tourist promotion.

"My anxiety is that the real job of Host is to publicise and market the Highlands and to respond to enquiries. Anything that diverts their energy from that central purpose has to be a worry," he said. "There is bound to be a period of upheaval and that will mean we are not getting our message out effectively."

Robert Powell, managing director of the Royal Marine hotel in Brora, said the whole structure of Host, which started operations on 1 April last year, needed to be overhauled.

"The tourist board has got to lose some of its quango image and be more reactive. There are too many people with too many fingers in the pie. It's time to bring in somebody who can build their own team with a sense of purpose,' he said.

David Noble, the Highland Council's area manager for the Skye and Lochalsh District Council, has been appointed interim chief executive of Host for up to six months.