Local businesses attended two useful events recently with the Visit East Lothian team.
Our Economic Development team continues to work closely with local businesses to support the hugely important tourism trade in East Lothian and two recent events showcase the efforts made and opportunities created by this established partnership working.
Members of our Visit East Lothian team, along with local industry representatives, travelled to Aberdeen recently to take part in VisitScotland Connect 2025, a travel trade event aimed at bringing in new global opportunities.
Ten tourism businesses from East Lothian attended the event, designed to increase Scotland’s share of global travel in a sustainable way, supporting the economic growth of one of our most valuable industries, under the banner of Visit East Lothian.
The Scottish Seabird Centre, Carberry Tower Mansion House and Estate, Archerfield Walled Garden, Belhaven Brewery, BlueWild Nature Boat Tours, Carfrae Farm, Papple Steading, The Leddie, Wild Cairns and The Yarrow Cookery School connected with more than 250 buyers at the event, who plan inspirational Scotland trips for their clients. The buyers represent 20 countries, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the UK domestic market.
Whilst the UK is the largest market for visits to Scotland, international visitors tend to stay longer and spend more, which is of vital importance as the industry continues to face challenges as a result of the increasing cost of living and of doing business.
Sophia Yarrow of Yarrow Cookery School said: “As a small business, taking part in the travel trade programme and attending Scotland Connect was a fantastic learning opportunity – I genuinely loved every minute. It’s helped me better understand the language of the travel industry, opened doors to valuable contacts and strengthened our connection with VisitScotland. We’re already seeing the benefits in real time and are so excited about the collaborations now taking shape.”
Neil Christison, VisitScotland Regional Director, said: “VisitScotland Connect is part of our wider plan to support tourism and events. It presents an important opportunity for tourism businesses to meet face-to-face with global tour operators and travel agents to showcase the amazing visitor offering this region has, which enhances the economic growth of tourism and events.”
Scott Smith, Director of Wild Cairns, Whitekirk Hill, said: “As this was our first time attending VisitScotland Connect, we were genuinely excited about the opportunity to meet businesses who can help bring international visitors to experience Wild Cairns. We launched in April 2024 and our recent relocation to Whitekirk Hill has given us the perfect base to showcase what East Lothian has to offer – rolling hills, panoramic views, and a truly unforgettable outdoor setting. One of our highlights is the Mini Highland Games, a fun and inclusive take on Scotland’s cultural traditions, which has already been a big hit with schools and corporate groups. This was an incredible opportunity to connect with many potential partners in one place. It would take us weeks to arrange those same meetings individually and even then, we probably wouldn’t see the same level of engagement. We’re incredibly grateful to East Lothian Council for all their support in helping us become travel trade ready, and we can’t wait to welcome our first overseas visitors.”
Shortly before the VisitScotland event, more than 90 tourism businesses from across East Lothian gathered at The Marine Hotel in North Berwick for the Visit East Lothian ‘East Lothian Talks Tourism’ Conference held as part of Scottish Tourism Month 2025.
Hosted by Marc Crothall MBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, the half-day conference offered a valuable opportunity for local tourism professionals to hear the latest insights, data, and strategic thinking driving the industry forward.
Speakers included Duncan Stewart of 56 Degree Insight, who shared key findings from the recent East Lothian Visitor Survey, and Richard Macdonald of Global Tourism Solutions, who explored the economic impact of tourism in the region.
Attendees were also inspired by Professor Xavier Font from the University of Surrey, who discussed meaningful approaches to sustainability, and Shaon Talukder, CEO of GeoTourist, who showcased digital storytelling to boost visitor engagement.
VisitScotland’s Neil Christison highlighted the ongoing collaboration between VisitScotland and Visit East Lothian and gave some examples of current partnership activity.
The event concluded with an insightful panel discussion and audience Q&A.
The visitor economy is an important sector in East Lothian, with the Scottish tourism economic impact modelling figures from 2024 showing it generated 2.98m visitor days, delivered an economic impact of £379 million and employed a workforce of 4626. The county’s DMMO (destination, marketing and management organisation) Visit East Lothian is delivered by the council’s Economic Development Team and plays a key part in ensuring that tourism continues to thrive in East Lothian.
A spokesperson for Visit East Lothian, said: “We are fortunate to have such a vibrant and thriving visitor economy in East Lothian and that the DMMO function is delivered and funded by East Lothian Council. This enables Visit East Lothian to work with and for businesses across the sector, identifying opportunities and enabling businesses to benefit from those. The Travel Trade Expert Help programme is one example of this approach in action. As part of this, the Tourism Conference gives valuable insight to businesses into who our visitors are as well as local, regional and national trends. It also highlights initiatives and ways to get involved as well as networking and making key connections. Visit East Lothian undertakes a range of activity to support the visitor economy with some exciting new opportunities coming soon - watch this space!”
Councillor John McMillan, East Lothian Council Spokesperson for Environment, Economic Development and Tourism, said: “Visit East Lothian continues to support East Lothian businesses, with more than 90 attending their recent East Lothian Talks Tourism Conference and providing expert help and support to 10 businesses to attend VisitScotland’s premier travel trade event, Scotland Connect. These activities are just some of the ways the Visit East Lothian team has been supporting and developing our tourism partners and acknowledging the importance of the sector.”
Anyone interested in participating in the travel trade Expert Help programme can contact the team by email. For more information, take a look at the Visit East Lothian website.