Dr Mike Cantlay, Chair of VisitScotland today – rightly – paid tribute to Argyll and Bute Council for taking the lead in hosting a tourism summit in Oban.
The key purpose of the event – which became clear during the day – was to persuade the 27 or so area marketing organisations in Argyll to do two things:
- become members of and drive forwards the Strategic Tourism Partnership whose members currently are: VisitScotland, Argyll and Bute Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, CalMac (the ferry operator), Forestry Commission Scotland and Food From Argyll
- accept the need for and adopt a single umbrella brand for Argyll and the Isles and collaborate – stronger together – in making such collaboration powerfully successful in the common interest.
This is, without question, the necessary step – but is the tourism industry in Argyll ready for it yet and was the event today capable of moving it significantly towards that readiness?
Is Argyll ready?
Why would the tourism industry in Argyll not be ready for a shared brand identity just now?
There is one fundamental and numbing reason why not – the concept of a unified identity for this place has not yet got beyond first base. No one, even internally, knows anything much about Argyll and the Isles.
People know only their own patch, the bit they’re marketing exclusively. There is virtually no depth of knowledge in the tourism industry about Argyll as a whole – no grasp of the complexity of its resources and of who is doing what in which part of it.
If you don’t know and feel the entirety of Argyll, you cannot viscerally buy into it or hope effectively to market it.
And that’s the problem, There is, as yet, no such thing as Argyll and the Isles.
The road not taken at the event
The Tourism Summit took the road of assuming that everyone present automatically knew about Argyll and that the job of the event was therefore to persuade them to commit to it.
So we didn’t talk about Argyll at all, really. And the premise was quite wrong. The vast majority of those present have – inevitably – a patchy and shallow grasp of Argyll and the Isles and cannot therefore have the vital gut devotion to the totality of the place.
Similarly, the agenda assumed that all present knew about the range of local food products from Argyll – so we talked - not about our food and drink but about organisations that promote it. And again that was too far down the wrong road.
Since there is not yet an Argyll and the Isles in the common understanding of it that anyone can buy into, we have to start by creating it.
The first job is for each individual involved in the tourist industry here to set about doing it for themselves – and that is to get to know as much as possible, at first hand, about Argyll and the Isles.
The answer to this widespread tunnel vision is not for the council to take a representative set of local marketeers on a coach tour. People in the tourist industry here need to discover Argyll and the Isles for themselves. This will, of necessity take some time but it will be profoundly rewarding.
So go explore. Surprise Yourself.
What’s in a name?
The council could start by agreeing to rename the local authority in that style. That would help, at least by making the name familiar in usage.
We cannot hope to make progress with a local authority called, awkwardly and illogically, ‘Argyll and Bute’, alongside a would-be tourist brand called ‘Argyll and the Isles’. And you can’t market something called ‘Argyll and Bute’.
So it’s decision time on this matter, if the council is serious about involving itself – and it has no statutory obligation to do so – in marketing Argyll for the tourism industry.
Leadership?
It was obvious in many of the issue-based sessions at the event that, while there were a few who understood the imperative for a common overall marketing brand, most were unconvinced, afraid that in supporting a larger identity, their own locality would ‘lose out’.
It will take first class leadership of an inspirational nature to carry those who prefer to cling on to what they’ve got and to work solely for themselves, to the point where they grasp and enthusiastically buy into a panoramic picture.
That leadership simply does not exist at the moment – anywhere in Argyll.
Without it, the tentative attempt made today will fail – not dramatically but with a whinge. It is worth remembering that events like today’s have been held before, with no marked advance towards the acceptance of a single uber-identity.
The thinking is right, The concept is right – but the moment is not. The planets, so to speak, are not in alignment. It would be better to wait for the moment rather than chalk up another failure and build an expectation of defeat.
Commitment to infrastructural development?
The strength of commitment necessary to drive an umbrella brand of Argyll and the Isles forward to success also does not exist in Argyll and Bute Council itself, as a member of the Strategic Tourism Partnership.
Take one example. There can be no question that Argyll’s roads are currently the sort of disgrace no self-respecting visitor would see as part of a stress-free holiday; or would consider returning to, after a rattling break.
Argyll has been inexcusably let down on this for well over a decade, principally by its local authority’s failure to fulfll its statutory responsibilities and maintain its roads; and also by central government, which has been allowed, by patently inept local government administrations and permanent staff, to avoid its own responsibilities.
Let’s be plain There is absolutely no point in spending public money on improving local facilities or in private sector investment in spectacular attractions, where the infrastructure is so dirt poor it can do nothing other than undermine all efforts. We cannot build a sustainable industry on a series of one-off horror-rides.
The mantra is ‘Roads.Roads. Roads.’
Yet, at today’s meeting, when this matter was raised, a senior council officer actually offered the wisdom that if the product is good, the roads won’t matter. This cravenly fatuous nonsense came from Robert Pollock, the council’s Head of Economic Development, no less – a despairing moment.
Sorry. There are other places with good products – and better roads. Would you choose to shake, rattle and roll across Argyll?
Industry ‘ownership’ baulked by decisions already taken
The attempt to persuade existing area marketing groups to throw their lot in with an umbrella marketing identity of ‘Argyll and the Isles’ has an inbuilt obstacle to industry ownership – in key decisions already taken.
There is a visual identity already designed and in use on a website already designed and in use.
The visual identity is very pretty, very bland and very inoffensive.
It does not suggest adventure tourism in any way. It does not carry the evocations of energy, discovery, surprise, exploration.
It could go to ‘consultation’, of course – to be cynical.
It is a given that ownership is only possible if people have a hand in the making of the thing they are expected to own.
Conundrums in tourism intelligence on Argyll
We recommend anyone with an interest in the tourism industry to register to use Tourism Intelligence Scotland. This is a free source of authoritative research and survey information related to the industry.
Apart from listening to Mike Cantlay – always reassuringly on the ball (as with ‘A high speed rail link to Scotland from the south is a priority – even it if takes 20 years’) – facts from the Tourism Intelligence source presented at the event today were very much worth having, even if they did produce a conundrum.
The overall message is that adventure tourism is Argyll’s great strength – but that what visitors are looking for is authentic, un-manufactured adventure.
Most adventure breaks evidently tend not to be main but second holidays. Of those who come for this sort of break:
- 37% are couples
- 25% are groups
- 21% are singles
- 17% are families
They like to explore and 25% like ‘softer’ adventures – so, somehow, think ‘authentic’ adventure’ which is also ‘softer’. Hmmm.
The types of folk who come to Argyll on holiday, as classified by Tourism Intelligence Scotland, are:
- Affluent Southern Explorers: age 45-60; professional; like authentic, inspiring new experiences off the beaten track.
- Younger Domestic Explorers: average age 42; active; singles or couples without children; like value for money, diversity and discovery; short breaks; self-catering or B&B; heavy internet users.
- Mature Devotees: older; retired; age 50-65; from Northern England or Scotland; time rich cash poor; need value for money accommodation; like longer, touring breaks; like garden visits and short walks; enjoy return visits, preferring the familiar; know what they like.
- Affluent active devotee: age 40-60, average age 50; well travelled; like golf and sport; like the finer things; like good food and accommodation; like the active and the inspirational.
The conundrum is finding a way to square the fact that Argyll is an attractive adventure tourism destination – for people over 40.
While that squares with the stated preference for ‘softer’ adventure, it leaves open a market to be developed amongst younger adventurers with a liking for a stiffer challenge.
While this market will not, in general, be a high value market, it will be a repeat market, establishing a lifetime habit of coming here, for the sheer variety of experience Argyll has to offer.
Beyond that, we have ourselves identified a high value market among younger adventurers – and it is open to those with initiative to develop.
Young corporate executives, in their late 20s and 30s, are high earners but lead a largely sedentary and stressful working life. Heath-conscious, they like to balance this with – often several – active breaks, with ususual physical challenge during the day and pampering in the evening, with good food and drink and very real comfort in accommodation.
They may earn a lot but they know the value of money and, while they will spend it on what they want, they spend it wisely.
We can think of several adventure enterprises in Argyll – like skippered sail charters (particularly if some training is part of the deal); like Islay’s extreme cycling; like wreck diving; like sea kayaking; like the long distance walking trails, like the unique physical challenge of the Machrihanish Dunes golf course…. These, if linked to the right sort of evening experience, could carve out a valuable niche market.
The right product could attract VisitScotland’s support in negotiating with major corporations to get information onto their intranets.
Some useful basic research facts
80% of Argyll’s visitors are from the UK – breaking down almost equally between England and Scotland. 16% in volume are from overseas, although this accounts for 20% of value.
What do they come for?
- 66% scenery
- 47% activities
- 39% attitude of local people
- 37% history, culture, wildlife
What do they want?
- Quality
- Value for money
- Friendliness
- Local food
- Information and joined up systems
- An overall experience that fits the image of the place
Running an event like this
Here there are lessons for the council to learn. We will gloss over clearly late programme detail not made known earlier to delegates – but the management of space and light to create ambience, energy, concentration and to enable relationships between the audience is a sine qua non.
The main space – the full Corran Hall – was far too big, too dark and used round tables so large people were strangers to each other. This was made worse by a sporadic practice of turning down the lights over the floor just after a speaker had begun to utter. And down went the energy along with the light. Obviously.
Speakers static at the lectern were lit like gothic horrors, with strange shadows created by the harsh lighting angles from above, dampened by the surrounding twilight. Those who were peripatetic wandered about the platform, often into darkness and when in the light, were tattooed with the projections aimed at the screen they were standing before.
This was profoundly amateurish yet it was designed to promote an industry that is centrally concerned with image and performance. And this was no village hall do. This was supposed to be the best we could do.
Everything was somehow distant, unengaged, strange.
This event, to achieve its ends, needed to weld people together, to energise them, mobilise them and set them free, tasked for the future.
The sheer physical arrangements in the hall made this galvanic an utter impossibility.
Never forget that light equals energy and that each variation of the physical relationship of members of the audience to each other in the setting of an event, enables some things and disables others. The event today was, to its disadvantage, not informed on such matters.
The two workshops we attended were ineffective.
One tried a collective conjuring of one of the types of visitor to Argyll – while the session leader indulged in a series of miked reflections aurally cutting across the guidance from the ‘leaders’ for each table of delegates. It was mind-janglingly impossible to concentrate on anything.
The other was too conscious of the need to drive the area marketing groups towards accepting the need to join and drive the Strategic Tourism Partnership – so the underlying agenda became too overt.
Finally – a word on the need to abandon the parochial.
Professional is just fine Let’s aim for it. Argyll will never raise its game it if potters in the shallows of some of the cosy ineptitudes in the chairing of the event.
My highlight of the day was when one of the delegates told the story of his conversation with the Oban taxi driver taking him to the event. He was asked what was he going to. The delegate replied: ‘A Tourism Forum’. The local taxi driver replied ‘There is no tourism in Oban. Everything is closed. You don’t need to go to a forum for that’.
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Excellent report.
Single biggest, easiest to implement idea – scrap Argyll & Bute and change to Argyll & The Isles. Why not start a campaign?
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Reasonably balanced report however we must look forward…..we cannot afford to be parochial and we must move forward. Most of us know of the failings of VisitScotland and would rather consign them to the past. Lets have leaders from tourism from Argyll drive tourism from Argyll….and Yes get the council to change its name and align with its biggest revenue earner.
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That is a simple idea to change the name, but would be so effective in marketing. Count me in.
Very disappointed to learn in the balanced report above about the poorly thought out physical set up (tables and lights) afforded to the delegates. Would have thought that someone in the the council would have ensured this side of things were taken care of. Opportunity missed.
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As an erst-while member of the Strategic Tourism Partnership, I am part confused, part frustrated, part puzzled and, even, part angry at this rant from For Argyll. The whole thing appears to add nothing to the Argyll and the Isles argument and may well, in fact, detract substantially from it.
The whole thing is clearly from a blogger who has her own agenda and seems to contradict herself in her apparent aim to tell everyone that she is smarter than the rest of us teuchters. As well she may be but…… And you do form the impression as the rant progresses that her sole purpose in being at the Summit (I will use that description) was to be able to report how awful and time-wasting it all was. A foregone conclusion, almost. Why. oh why?
I take serious issue with the claim that we all need to have knowledge “about Argyll as a whole” and cannot see any lack of overall Argyll knowledge being an impediment at all to the successful creation and managing of the Argyll and the Isles brand. The “brand” has to be the way forward and its strength has to be the local knowledge and perspective brought to it by each of the local partners. Equally the claim that those present felt that “their own locality would lose out” in the wider issue would appear to be a spurious throw-away comment to stir up controversy. I think that we would need more evidence of this before it could be considered a serious contribution. The further comment that “the moment is not right” (to go with Argyll and the Isles) is an odd statement in the extreme. Who says? Why not? When, pray, will be right? Perhaps, the lady could lend us her crystal ball?
And leadership is an issue – of course it is – but who is this self-appointed blogger-at-large who can make this damning judgement that the relevant “…..leadership simply does not exist at the moment – anywhere in Argyll”. This is clearly a definitive statement with no doubt whatsoever and is arrogant in the extreme. Again, where is the evidence? If she is so clever, then maybe it’s time to give up the blogging and save the world – or, at least, Argyll.
And then there’s the roads. Ah yes, the roads! We should, apparently, be telling people to keep away in case our roads devour their vehicles. Have people stopped coming? Are they not coming back? Are our roadsides littered with the detritus of wrecked visitors’ cars? You would think so reading this stuff. All a bit hysterical and OTT, I would suggest. Now, if roads are your thing, then come to Mull – even our potholes have potholes and I have heard the rumour that a section of road is to be submitted as a possible Turner prize next year. But that could just be a rumour…….
Roads clearly are an issue but they are also a fact of life and are a huge, long-term national infrastructure issue. And, yes, in places, they are a disgrace! But they won’t be fixed tomorrow or the next day. And I would feel able to defend, to an extent, the Council Officer who – apparently – suggested that “if the product is good the roads won’t matter”. The statement at least shows someone in touch with reality. People do come up to Argyll in their droves and they don’t go round moaning about the roads. It is, I would suggest, just another factor in their holiday which is about being somewhere different where the scenery is quite stunning and where they can relax (yes I said, relax) away from their normal workaday lives. I am not at all aware of the roads being a serious issue with visitors. Some would even say that they add to the “charm” of the place. Oh yes. they would – odd as that may seem!
As to the regurgatating of the TIS stats – all very interesting but Sue Crossman already did a good job on these, thank-you. I know that they make your blog look serious and authoritatitive but we have all that, ta. Tell us something we don’t know.
And, finally – well you started it, Mrs – the event itself. Lots of good stuff in there and, yes, lots could have been better. But the Corran Halls are there. They are owned by A&B and the event was free. You’ll remember, none of us paid anything to be there. You will also know, as a citizen of the world, that events such as this cost up to £250 a day to attend out there in the big wide world and, so, can afford all sorts of expensive event and conference consultants. The reality of the whole issue is, I suspect, that had there been any charge at all for this, then the risk would have been an extremely poor attendance. (That, of course raises its own issues but not for this comment). I have to assume that it was important for the Council to maximise attendance and, therefore, to minimise costs. I rest my case.
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For Dave: Everything you say demonstrates the need for change we are highlighting.
Complacency is death dealing.
The big question you must answer is that if everything is as fine as you say, why is Argyll not known as a place, never mind a tourist destination?
And if you think roads don’t matter, you must be rich enough to have your own helicopter.
People may visit an area with awful roads – as is Argyll;s current condition – out of ignorance of what lies ahead of them. But they will come only once. They will not return and their word of mouth report wlll stop from coming any other unwary first timers they know.
If there was indeed the right sort of leadership for tourism in Argyll in the offing, you would have identified it – and you have been unable to do so. QED.
If you are neither curious nor desirous to know more about the area in which you live and, apparently, earn your living in the tourism industry – why should anyone else be?
And the – very useful – statistics we gave which were presented by the Tourism Intelligence unit – were not, of course, for those who were there to hear them but for those not able to be present and who would benefit from access to them.
It’s called ‘information’ and we exist to share it.
On the matter of event fees, as the Council fully realise, attempting to charge for an event like this – well meaning but clueless and run by an organisation with as little credibility, would have meant an empty hall. As it was, it was well supported by a variety of council staff and what we would term as ‘dependants’.
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