Tourism can bring a wealth of economic, sustainable, social and cultural benefits to our communities and cities, supporting resilience and stimulating job creation.
The First Minister’s commented in Scotland’s Outlook 2030 that “an innovative, resilient and welcoming [tourism] industry is vital, not only for Scotland’s future prosperity, but for Scotland’s place in the world”. Scotland’s self-catering sector wants to play our full part in achieving this objective.
Our professional self-caterers are diligent and considerate business owners who are too often unfairly maligned. They do not, for example, ‘hollow out communities’, as some have claimed, but rather are part of local communities across Scotland and have been for many, many years.
So why are we so poorly misrepresented, and demonised as sex traffickers, drug dealers and puppy farmers?
Fiona Campbell will provide an overview of the sector, the perfect storm it finds itself in and the impact of ill-conceived short-term let regulation not only on the sector itself, but the onward supply chain and tourism and hospitality as a whole.
Hear from Anna Morris, Owner of the Edinburgh Address, about her award winning 15 year old business and the place it plays at the heart of the community: a local Scottish company, employing locals, accommodating diverse guests who eat and drink in local eateries and purchase their food in local shops. Find out how their guests’ stories are part of the fabric of the Scottish tourism industry, which is vital to the world renowned Edinburgh tourism offering.
Dickins is a local Edinburgh business which has been letting homes successfully and respectfully for 24 years in the city, causing no issues for local communities. Here their Managing Director, Louise Dickins, highlights six simple solutions to stop any issues with short term lets in the city. These proactive steps can amend the negative narrative and help policy makers and the community recognise the importance of short-term lets to the local economy. The ultimate aim is to achieve a positive and peaceful coexistence for local communities, leading to a sustainable future for the sector and the city as a whole.
How we live and work can represent the beginning of a bold new approach putting our communities, our people, our visitors, our businesses and our environment at the heart of everything we do – and ever more so in a post pandemic environment, but only if the regulatory landscape enables that approach.