One week left to vote in Tourism BID ballot
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MORAY’S tourism businesses have less than a week to cast their vote in a ballot to decide the future of the region’s tourism industry.
Tourism Business Improvement District (Tourism BID) ballot papers were issued to every eligible tourism business in the area in early December. The six-week ballot period will end at 5pm on Wednesday, January 15. The result will be known soon after.
Moray Speyside Tourism (MST) has been promoting the region since 2014. The organisation’s funding came to an end in December, and without the Tourism BID there will be no further marketing of the region or support for the region's tourism businesses, with fears that Moray Speyside will be left lagging behind other areas of Scotland.
Laurie Piper, MST operations manager, repeated his call for businesses to back the bid.
He said: "Moray Speyside’s tourism industry is in the best state it has ever been.
"We’re asking tourism businesses to make a modest contribution – which for most is no more than 75p per day – to secure the future of tourism and deliver our ambitious business plan. At less than £300 per year, the cost of a single lost booking as a result of the BID not being there is more than the BID levy.
"By voting yes to the Tourism BID proposals, businesses will be voting to make sure that Moray Speyside has an independent, accountable organisation working on their behalf, promoting our region and protecting their interests. Importantly, it will also offer Moray’s tourism industry a sustainable, financially secure model which will take the region’s tourism performance to the next level.
"Whether you’re a major tourism business or you simply let your accommodation to holidaymakers or contractors, you are part of Moray’s tourism industry and together we can deliver a brighter future."
Similar Tourism BID schemes elsewhere have significantly boosted visitor numbers. The Inverness Loch Ness Tourism BID has recently been re-elected for a second term.
Last year tourism was worth £130 million to the Moray economy, with the region welcoming almost 800,000 visitors who supported more than 2,800 local jobs. The BID will invest more than £1 million in tourism development over its five-year term.
