The boss of a major Inverness hotel has been appointed as a director to the local tourism business improvement district (T-Bid).
Dorothy MacLean, general manager of the Thistle Hotel, has pledged to focus her time on the board of VisitInvernessLochNess building further opportunities for the development of business tourism in the Highlands.
Miss MacLean is the chairwoman of the Inverness Hotels’ Association, and has been involved in the hospitality sector for more than 20 years and was one of the founding members of the T-Bid steering group.
The 38-year-old helped to shape the campaign to set up the T-Bid for the region, the first of its kind in the UK, and introduced the concept to numerous tourism-focused businesses.
Her hard work and influence helped the region secure the initiative, into which over 400 businesses pay a levy.
She said: “I have always been a very vociferous advocate of business tourism, so when the opportunity arose to stand for board of directors, I felt that it would be an excellent opportunity to get the T-Bid to focus even more effort on supporting this sector.
“Business tourism is vitally important to this area, and represents the fastest growing income stream for hoteliers. While the region is renowned for its leisure tourism, business travel is fast catching up as a result of huge growth in the renewable energy and life sciences industries.
“The Highlands is renowned as a hub for these sectors, and there is a huge potential for tourism operators to capitalise on the spin-off they create through overnight stays, food and beverage sales, and meetings and events.
“But beyond that, we need to show that Inverness and the Highlands is an area that can compete with the likes of Glasgow and Edinburgh. I hope that by working closely with the T-Bid to develop a strategy, we will be seen as a growth city that we will be able to give the region a voice nationally.”
VisitInvernessLochNess was set up in March 2014 after all tourism businesses in the Inverness and Loch Ness area were asked to vote on whether to establish the T-Bid.
Tourism businesses now pay a levy into the T-Bid to fund a range of activities aimed at increasing visitors and their length of stay, encouraging higher spend which can help the economy and create jobs.