Vicki Miller on VisitScotland’s Strategy to Drive Higher-Value, Sustainable Tourism Growth Across Scotland

Saturday, September 5, 2026

Vicki Miller is a senior tourism and destination-marketing leader who serves as Director of Industry and Destination Development at VisitScotland, Scotland’s national tourism and events organisation. With a strong background in digital strategy, international marketing and industry development, Miller plays a key role in shaping Scotland’s approach to sustainable visitor-economy growth. Her work focuses on increasing tourism value rather than simply visitor volumes, with particular emphasis on attracting high-value international travellers, extending the tourism season, encouraging longer stays and dispersing visitors across Scotland’s regions. Miller is also closely involved in strengthening relationships with airlines, tour operators, travel agents, online travel platforms and international travel buyers, helping Scottish businesses become travel-trade ready and compete globally. Her strategic priorities increasingly encompass data, digital platforms and artificial intelligence, alongside destination stewardship and responsible tourism. Under her leadership and influence, VisitScotland is working to connect global travel demand with Scottish businesses and communities while protecting the country’s natural and cultural assets. Her insights highlight Scotland’s ambition to remain a globally competitive, sustainable and year-round destination, supported by connectivity, major events, innovation and authentic local experiences.

As VisitScotland focuses on expanding the overall value of the visitor economy rather than purely arrival metrics, how is this strategy driving your global travel trade partnerships and international marketing campaigns? 

We recognise that a thriving visitor economy should benefit both visitors and residents. Achieving that requires a careful balance, which is why VisitScotland’s strategy is focused on growing the overall value of the visitor economy rather than simply maximising visitor numbers.

This approach directly shapes both our international marketing campaigns and our travel trade partnerships. Rather than focusing solely on attracting more visitors, we prioritise attracting the right visitors at the right time and to the right places. Our ambition is to position Scotland as a must-visit, must-return, year-round destination, ensuring that the economic benefits of tourism and events are spread more evenly across communities, regions and seasons.

Everything we do is informed by data and insight. Through our international marketing activity, we focus on high-value markets that have the greatest potential to deliver sustainable economic growth for Scotland, including North America, China, Germany and France. We also use audience segmentation to identify and inspire visitors who are more likely to stay longer, spend more, travel year-round and explore destinations beyond Scotland’s traditional tourism hotspots.

This data-led approach allows us to develop targeted, multi-channel marketing campaigns that encourage behaviours aligned with our strategic objectives. Our activity is developed in collaboration with our destination partners to ensure it recognises the unique strengths and capacity of each place, as well as considering community sentiment. Success is not measured solely by visitor volume, but by the value visitors bring to the economy, the length of stay, the dispersal of visitors across Scotland and the positive impact tourism can have on businesses and communities. 

Internationalisation is a key priority for VisitScotland because tourism is one of Scotland’s most valuable exports. It drives international trade, strengthens Scotland’s reputation on the global stage and can help attract wider investment. As Scotland’s national tourism and events organisation, we play an important role in connecting Scottish tourism businesses with international buyers and travel intermediaries, helping to showcase the authentic experiences that make Scotland a world-class destination.

Our travel trade partnerships are therefore focused on creating long-term, sustainable growth. We work closely with tour operators, travel agents, destination management companies, to develop programmes that support our regional and seasonal spread objectives and encourage slow travel. With airlines, we are focused on season extension as well as new routes, and with OTAs we focus activity on spotlighting destinations with capacity. These partnerships help ensure Scotland remains competitive and visible in international markets.

A significant part of this work involves supporting Scottish businesses to become travel trade ready. By helping businesses understand international markets and develop products that meet visitor expectations, we not only add value to individual businesses; we strengthen Scotland’s overall tourism offering and create more opportunities for businesses to benefit from global travel demand.

In 2025, we supported a further 153 businesses to become travel trade ready, bringing the total number of Scottish businesses contracting with tour operators and travel agents in key international markets to more than 1,200. Together, these businesses help attract millions of international visitors to Scotland each year, generating economic value that supports jobs, communities and local supply chains across the country.

Ultimately, our goal is to grow Scotland’s share of global travel in a way that delivers long-term benefits for people, places and businesses. By focusing on value over volume, targeting high-value international markets and strengthening our travel trade partnerships, we can support a more sustainable visitor economy that continues to contribute to Scotland’s economic and social wellbeing for years to come.

What targeted initiatives are you implementing to encourage off-peak visits, longer stays, and broader regional dispersion across Scotland? 

We believe seasonality is integral to the long-term success of Scotland’s visitor economy. If we want our communities, businesses and destinations to thrive all year round, then tourism must support them all year round too. That’s why one of our key priorities is to encourage visitors to travel throughout the year, stay longer and explore more of Scotland’s regions.

Our focus is on stimulating both domestic and international demand for sustainable travel experiences that showcase the breadth and diversity of Scotland’s offering. We want visitors to see Scotland not as a destination for a single trip or a single season, but as a place that offers memorable experiences throughout the year.

Fortunately, Scotland is uniquely positioned to do this. Our landscapes, vibrant culture, world-class food and drink, rich heritage and warm hospitality take on a different character as the seasons change, creating fresh opportunities to inspire travel. Whether it’s enjoying dark skies and winter sports, embracing Scotland’s growing wellness and Coorie experiences, attending internationally recognised events and festivals, or discovering quieter destinations beyond the summer peak, there are compelling reasons to visit Scotland at any time of year.

Our insights show that demand for Scotland remains strong and that wellbeing and wellness are increasingly important motivators for those travelling. This creates an opportunity to position Scotland as a destination that helps restore mind, body and soul while encouraging visitors to slow down, spend more time in a destination and engage more deeply with local experiences and communities.

Extending Scotland’s appeal beyond the summer months is therefore a key part of our marketing strategy. Visitor spend during the first and fourth quarters of 2024 totalled £2.7 billion, demonstrating the significant economic value that can be generated outside the traditional peak season. Encouraging travel across the year also supports our responsible tourism ambitions by helping distribute visitors more evenly across Scotland’s destinations and reducing pressure on some of our busiest locations.

Everything we do is informed by data and insight. We use audience targeting, market intelligence and consumer research to understand where demand exists and what experiences resonate most strongly with different audiences. Through multi-channel campaigns across social media, traditional media, digital platforms and emerging technologies such as generative AI, we aim to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time.

Partnerships are also critical to achieving greater regional and seasonal spread. We work closely with global travel platforms such as TripAdvisor, Expedia and Skyscanner to showcase destinations, businesses and events that support travel beyond the traditional tourism hotspots. We are also collaborating with tour operators, travel agents and Scottish tourism businesses to develop seasonal itineraries, create off-peak experiences and promote events that encourage visitors to explore different parts of the country throughout the year. From Hogmanay and St Andrew’s Day celebrations to events such as The Enchanted Forest and Up Helly Aa, these experiences help create compelling reasons to visit Scotland outside the summer months.

Of course, inspiring people to visit is only part of the equation. Visitors also need convenient access to Scotland. That’s why our marketing activity is closely aligned with our route development work. Working alongside the Scottish Government, airports and airline partners, we continue to strengthen Scotland’s international connectivity and support demand for both new and existing routes.

In 2026, Scotland has welcomed several new and reinstated international services, including WestJet’s return to Glasgow from Toronto, United Airlines’ new daily Newark to Glasgow route, Delta’s year-round New York (JFK) to Edinburgh service and the extension of Hainan Airlines’ Beijing to Edinburgh route to year-round operation. These connections help us attract visitors from key international markets and support our ambition to achieve more sustainable growth by encouraging longer stays, year-round travel and wider exploration of Scotland’s regions.

Building on your background in digital strategy, how is VisitScotland using data, digital platforms, and AI tools to help local operators connect with global travellers? 

At VisitScotland, our vision is to develop Scotland’s tourism and events industries in a way that ensures Scotland remains a sustainable, responsible and globally competitive destination. Central to that ambition is helping businesses understand and respond to the changing expectations of today’s traveller, and increasingly that means using data, digital platforms and emerging technologies more effectively. 

As an organisation, we have had to remain agile to this changing landscape, investing in our staff, skills and technology to ensure we are providing the right support and expertise to grow Scotland’s visitor economy. 

The way people plan and book travel has changed dramatically over the last decade. Most visitors now research destinations online, seek inspiration through digital content, compare experiences across multiple channels and often make booking decisions before they ever arrive in Scotland. To respond to this shift, we’ve invested in a digital-first approach that helps ensure Scotland is visible and discoverable where potential visitors are actively seeking information and inspiration.

Through our own channels, we ensure Scotland remains front of mind by creating, publishing and curating content that showcases the variety of destinations and experiences that can be enjoyed here. At the same time, we influence and contribute to other channels we know travellers use such as influencers or travel media. Our social reach and engagement have grown year-on-year, and we are currently refocusing our website to optimise content for AI searches. 

Data and insight sit at the heart of that approach. We monitor visitor trends, market intelligence, consumer behaviour and travel industry insights to better understand what visitors are looking for, where demand is growing and how Scotland can respond to emerging opportunities. This intelligence allows us to help businesses adapt their products and experiences to meet changing customer expectations and connect with new audiences both domestically and internationally.

One of our most important responsibilities as the national tourism and events organisation is supporting businesses to be the best they can be. Through our Business Support Programme, we provide advice, guidance and practical expertise to help tourism and event businesses grow, improve their offer and maximise opportunities in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Digital platforms play a key role in that support. We help businesses improve their discoverability, understand distribution channels and connect with the travel trade and intermediary networks that influence visitor decisions. Through our relationships with international tour operators, travel advisors, wholesalers and online travel platforms, we’re able to provide valuable insight into the experiences and products that travellers are actively seeking.

This helps businesses develop authentic, market-ready experiences that can be included within travel itineraries and packages sold to visitors around the world. We also create opportunities for businesses to build their own international networks. Events such as VisitScotland Connect bring together Scottish tourism businesses and international buyers, creating valuable opportunities to showcase Scotland’s tourism offering and secure future business.

Looking ahead, AI represents an exciting opportunity for both VisitScotland and the wider tourism industry. While the technology continues to evolve, its potential to help businesses better understand consumer behaviour, improve customer service, enhance content creation and personalise visitor experiences is significant. AI can help businesses analyse data more efficiently, identify emerging travel trends and make more informed decisions about where to invest their time and resources.

Our role is to help businesses navigate these changes with confidence. That means sharing knowledge, providing guidance and ensuring businesses have access to the skills, insight and support they need to embrace new opportunities responsibly and effectively.

Ultimately, success depends on a strong pipeline of experiences and events that appeal to visitors while delivering benefits to communities across Scotland. By combining data, digital expertise, international market insight and emerging technologies, we’re helping tourism and event businesses reach more customers, grow sustainably and strengthen Scotland’s reputation as a world-class destination for visitors from around the globe.

With VisitScotland’s latest insights highlighting that visitors increasingly want their spending to benefit local communities, how are you balancing global promotion with destination stewardship? 

We want tourism to create positive outcomes for Scotland’s people and places as well as for our visitors. Destination stewardship is therefore not separate from our international marketing activity; it is fundamental to how we promote Scotland around the world.

Today’s visitors are increasingly conscious of the impact their travel has on the destinations they visit. They want to know their spending supports local businesses, sustains communities and helps protect the places they have come to experience. VisitScotland’s Travel Trends 2026 report identified Give and Break as a key trend, reflecting growing consumer interest in travel that delivers meaningful benefits for local people and places. This is reinforced by wider industry research, with Booking.com finding that almost three-quarters of travellers want their spending to benefit local communities.

Those expectations align closely with our ambitions for Scotland’s visitor economy. We are focused on growing the value of tourism in a way that delivers long-term benefits for businesses, communities and destinations across the country. That means encouraging visitors to stay longer, travel throughout the year and explore a wider range of locations, helping spread economic benefits more evenly while reducing pressure on some of our busiest destinations.

Through our destination development activity, we work closely with regional partners to identify opportunities to invest in events, develop experiences and improve infrastructure that supports sustainable growth. We also collaborate with nature-based agencies and local stakeholders to manage visitor demand in rural hotspots, promote responsible travel and improve experiences for both visitors and residents. For example, Scotland’s National Parks use car park sensor technology to provide advance information on busy locations, while we have also been involved in projects exploring how data can help inform ranger services and provide visitors with better journey planning information.

These principles are reflected in our marketing and content activity. Rather than focusing solely on Scotland’s most iconic attractions, we actively encourage visitors to discover lesser-known destinations and connect more deeply with local communities. Through our campaigns, digital content and partnerships, we showcase authentic experiences, local food and drink, cultural traditions, community-led activities and the people behind them. This helps visitors build a richer connection with the places they visit while sharing the benefits of tourism more widely.

Destination stewardship is also embedded in our travel trade work. We collaborate closely with tour operators, travel agents and other intermediaries to develop itineraries that support responsible travel and create wider benefits for communities. This includes promoting experiences such as visits to nature reserves, local food producers, heritage attractions, low-carbon travel options and businesses with strong sustainability credentials.

A good example is our partnership with tourism industry non-profit Tourism Cares. Through the Meaningful Travel Map, Scottish tourism businesses are connected directly with international travel buyers who are seeking responsible and community-focused experiences. Scotland was the first European destination to feature on the platform, creating new opportunities for businesses while promoting experiences that deliver positive local impact.

The businesses represented include social enterprises, charities and community-led organisations offering experiences such as wildlife conservation projects, rewilding initiatives, crofting experiences and traditional craft skills. These activities not only create memorable visitor experiences but also help protect Scotland’s natural and cultural heritage.

Ultimately, we do not see global promotion and destination stewardship as competing priorities. They are mutually reinforcing. By encouraging visitors to travel responsibly, support local businesses and engage more deeply with Scotland’s people and places, we can continue to grow a visitor economy that delivers lasting benefits for communities while providing world-class experiences for visitors.

As major events continue to position Scotland on the global stage, which key international markets offer the strongest potential for future tourism growth?

Major events play a vital role in raising Scotland’s profile internationally, showcasing our destinations to global audiences and inspiring future visits. They provide a powerful platform to highlight Scotland’s landscapes, culture, heritage and hospitality, helping to strengthen our reputation as a world-class destination.

As we look to the future, the strongest opportunities for international tourism growth continue to come from a combination of established high-value markets and strategically important emerging markets. Through our marketing and travel trade activity, we focus particularly on North America, China, Germany and France, where we see significant potential to drive sustainable economic value for Scotland’s visitor economy. However, we are also seeing growing value coming from markets such as Australia, India and southern European destinations.

Our approach is guided by data and insight. We are focused on attracting visitors who are more likely to stay longer, spend more, travel throughout the year and explore a wider range of destinations across Scotland. These markets consistently demonstrate strong demand for the types of experiences Scotland offers, including culture, heritage, outdoor experiences, golf, food and drink, wellness and nature-based tourism.

Major events help amplify that appeal. Scotland has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to host world-class sporting, cultural and business events, creating opportunities to reach millions of people around the world. The Edinburgh Festivals, for example, have earned a global reputation for cultural excellence and continue to attract audiences and performers from across the world. Similarly, Scotland’s position as the birthplace of golf gives us a unique advantage in attracting high-value visitors, supported by our internationally renowned courses and a strong calendar of major tournaments.

However, events are about much more than visitor numbers. Whether an event attracts a global television audience or brings a local community together, it creates opportunities to showcase Scotland’s destinations, support local businesses, sustain jobs and deliver lasting economic and social benefits. Major events also provide a compelling reason to visit Scotland outside traditional travel periods and can encourage visitors to explore different regions of the country.

Importantly, Scotland’s success in hosting major events is built on long-term collaboration and investment across the public and private sectors. This commitment has helped establish Scotland as one of the world’s leading events destinations and positions us strongly to attract future visitors from key international markets.

Looking ahead, 2027 will provide another significant opportunity to showcase Scotland on the world stage through major sporting events: The 155th Open Championship, the first of three World Rally Championships and the Tour de France Grand Départ. Both events will generate significant international attention and provide an opportunity to introduce Scotland to new audiences while reinforcing our appeal among existing visitors.

These opportunities align closely with the ambitions set out in Scotland’s National Events Strategy 2024-2035, which aims to strengthen Scotland’s international reputation, attract visitors through world-class events, support a vibrant portfolio of cultural, sporting and business events, and secure major events that deliver long-term economic and social benefits.

While events alone do not determine which markets offer the greatest growth potential, they are a valuable tool in helping us engage audiences in our priority markets. By combining our events programme with targeted marketing, travel trade partnerships and continued investment in connectivity, we can maximise Scotland’s visibility in North America, China, Germany and France, while continuing to build demand in other international markets over the longer term.

Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that global interest generated by major events translates into sustainable visitor growth that benefits businesses, communities and destinations across Scotland.

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