Working together to attract more tourists

Eight Scottish councils have pledged to work together to attract an additional one million tourists to the west of Scotland over the next five years.

The Glasgow City Region tourism strategy forms part of the collaborative work being delivered through the joint Glasgow City Region economic strategy which sets out a range of measures to grow the economy, jobs and business.

North Lanarkshire is one of eight councils participating, together with East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire.

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Councillor Allan Graham, convener of Enterprise and Housing Resources at North Lanarkshire Council said: “Councils across the region are committed to working together to boost tourism for the benefit of all our areas.

“By attracting more visitors to the region we’re boosting local economies and putting ourselves on the tourism map. In turn, our role is to ensure our attractions are first class, deliver value for money and are easily accessible.”

Some of the key actions in the tourism strategy include: councils establishing a city region culture group to promote and maximise existing cultural assets; a regional events and festivals forum being established to map and co-ordinate a programme of events to develop new and existing audiences; a new outdoor activities group will also aim to identify themes that will allow cross-boundary activities.

Glasgow City Region cabinet chairwoman and Glasgow City Council leader, Councillor Susan Aitken, added: “This is an ambitious target, but the commitment that Glasgow City Region partners have made to work together and with national agencies provides a strong platform for the city, the region and Scotland as tourist destinations.

“Glasgow might have an established record of attracting visitors, but every part of the region has its own strengths and bringing those together will ultimately benefit us all.”