Scot Talk: VisitScotland's Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead

PHOTO: VisitScotland’s Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead addresses New York media during VisitScotland Week in Manhattan.

As Scotland sets the table for Scots from around the world to come back for the second Scottish Homecoming, VisitScotland is already preparing for 2015 and the Year of Food and Drink. VisitScotland operates a cycle of theme years such as Creative Scotland, Natural Scotland, Homecoming and Food and Drink. The agency also leverages such events as Disney’s “Brave” last year and this year, a commemoration of Scottish-American naturalist John Muir.

TravelPulse: What’s going on in Scotland this year?

Malcolm Roughead: This year, 2014 is a big year for Scotland and we are already planning for 2015. This year we are celebrating the second Homecoming, the Commonwealth Games are coming to Glasgow, the launching of the John Muir Way (JM Festival) and the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. Next year we will be celebrating Scottish food and drink as our annual theme for the second time.

TP: This is your second Homecoming theme year, the first was in 2009. The Irish held their “bring home the diaspora” year in 2013 under the title, “The Gathering.” Did you learn anything from the Irish? They did a great job of enlisting local communities in the effort.

MR: Well, I think the Irish learned a few things from the first Homecoming, but they did a great job in building the Gathering from the bottom up. By reaching out to all those communities, they instilled a spirit of ownership at the grassroots level — a lot of heart and soul. In the 2009 version of the Homecoming, we ran about a 340 events related to the theme. This year we are calling Homecoming 2014, “The Year That the Fireworks Just Won’t Stop,” because there will be 800 events throughout the year for the Homecoming.

Every week and month something is going on. Our communities learned from the first Homecoming that they had a lot to gain by buying into it. Now we have florists, bakers, fishermen, and so many other walks of life who have been bought in. It creates just the spirit of excitement that we were hoping for.

TP: Tell us about next year’s food and drink promotion…

MR: Natural foods have become a staple in Scotland: Angus beef, salmon, scallops, craft beer, and of course whiskey: the water of life. We have 16 Michelin Star restaurants as well as many small hidden gems, farmers markets and foodie festivals. Next year will be the second time we’ve highlighted Scottish food and drink. From our point of view, Scotland has developed a strong reputation because our culinary standards have become much stronger every year. We have several internationally known chefs such as Andrew Fairlie. Also, we have an advantage in natural and organic foods because purity has been a Scottish value for a long time.

TP: How about the Ryder’s Cup; what will its impact be?

MR: In the Ryder Cup we’re talking about $165 million in revenue plus the media coverage whose value in inestimable. Now it’s a global game, but people are aware of its heritage. As the home of golf we have a responsibility to represent the game in all of its traditions but with a fresh face. We hope to show golf as an inclusive sport. The challenge is to develop the games of golf. We have golf-related events scheduled through 2022.

TP: You’ve been doing destination marketing for a long time. How has marketing changed with the rise of the Internet?

MR: A huge societal change has taken place via the Internet and tourism marketing had to respond to it. If you’re going to compete with all of the other destinations you have to be flexible and move with those changes. Basically, the world got smaller and more accessible. In about 1989, the Internet began to offer access like never before and at the same time there was more disposable income, making the world even more accessible.

The pre-packaged view of Scotland is now obsolete. It’s simply not enough to establish a few iconic attractions. Marketing had to evolve as communications improved. Social media gives us an incredible advocacy opportunity, if, and it’s a large, if, you get it right. Get it wrong and all of those positives become negatives.