Last week, delegates and speakers from across Scotland and beyond gathered for Scotland’s Marine Tourism Conference on the 19th of March, marking the event’s return after a four-year break.

Organised for the sector by Sail Scotland, and sponsored by North Ayrshire Council, the conference was held in The Waterside Hotel, West Kilbride, and was a great success. It was the coming together of like-minded people to network and discuss opportunities for the future of Marine Tourism.

Delegates heard from a wide variety of speakers on topics such as the importance of destinations and collaboration from Rob Dickson at Visit Scotland, opportunities to connect areas of the Clyde from North Ayrshire Council as well as 200 years of the RNLI from Charles Hunter-Pease OBE.

There were informative sessions from NatureScot and Traveltech for Scotland, together with industry spotlight talks about adventure sailing, Scottish Canals and the Clipper race coming to Oban.

The key to the success of the sector is collaborating throughout Scotland to ensure our natural resources and environment are protected while working with businesses so they can benefit from the marine visitor economy.

Daniel Steel, CEO of Sail Scotland, said “Sailing and boating tourism alone is estimated to contribute £84 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the Scottish Economy, supporting 3100 jobs – many in rural and fragile coastal communities. And the wider marine tourism economy generates £494 million in GVA annually, so it is no surprise that there is huge interest in the sector.

“We have developed and grown Scotland’s Marine Tourism Conference since 2016 to bring stakeholders together to directly support ambitions for Scotland’s Blue Economy. With over 100 delegates from across Scotland, it has grown into a key event which inspires and challenges delegates to collaborate, innovate, and ensure that we work together to make the most of the opportunities ahead to sustainably grow this key sector.”

Closing the event, Sail Scotland Chairman Gavin McDonagh said, “It was great to see the industry coming together to collaborate, and to think collectively about how we grow marine tourism sustainably. As this conference has demonstrated, there is no shortage of passion or ideas about how we continue to move the sector forward, protecting and enhancing our coastal assets and inland waterways.

Our voluntary industry board works tirelessly to develop and promote this key sector and we are confident that, with support from government and our partner agencies, Scotland can be a world leader in responsible and sustainable marine tourism over the next few years.”