We launched a feature in 2020 so that you can get to know our team a little better! We’re asking members of staff from across VisitScotland to tell us a bit about themselves and their roles, as well as some of their favourite places to visit in our beautiful country. In the next of the series hear from Andrew Craig, our Industry Development Manager (Digital).
Article published 26/01/2022
Tell us a bit about yourself...
"Hi everyone, I’m Andrew and I’m Industry Development Manager for Digital at VisitScotland. I’ve been at VisitScotland for over 10 years and have been involved in a variety of roles that have usually involved elements of encouraging digital growth amongst tourism businesses and sharing digital advice.
"I studied tourism, marketing and French at university (many years ago now) and have previously worked in hotels abroad as well as spending some time as a chef in Glasgow.
"I love to travel (especially visiting new places in Scotland) and am always keen to hear about new places to see. With my cheffing background I also enjoy finding a place to enjoy some local cuisine. I can be relied upon for advice and tips when someone is looking for a fancy dinner or just a good cup of coffee. I love mountains and especially enjoy riding down them on a snowboard."
What is your role at VisitScotland and what are your main responsibilities?
"My day-to-day role involves a variety of tasks including the running of events for tourism businesses with my colleague Patrick O’Shaughnessy and working alongside colleagues to increase knowledge and awareness of the “fundamentals of digital” amongst tourism businesses.
"I'm also responsible for managing the relationships between VisitScotland and a variety of online booking systems, Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and other technology providers.
"I help industry-facing colleagues support tourism businesses by giving support, training and advice, and I create useful resources for tourism businesses to help them make sense of digital opportunities available to them. Examples of these resources include our VisitScotland.org pages on how to increase your accommodation bookings online and how to increase online bookings for your tourism experience."
How has your role changed since the pandemic began to help support industry?
"Prior to the pandemic my role involved helping to run some external events and meetings with businesses. Since the start of the pandemic, all those meetings have moved online, and the events have become webinars. One particular highlight was the Ctrl+Alt+Succeed Scotland event that I helped organise in November 2021. This event brought key online booking systems and OTAs together with Scottish tourism experiences businesses (visitor attractions, tour companies and activity providers) with the aim of helping them to become online bookable or increase their level of product distribution. Find out more about Ctrl+Alt+Succeed Scotland 2021 and access useful resources shared during the online event.
"Tourism businesses might also be interested in a series of digitally-focused webinars that I’m currently helping to run alongside a team from Business Gateway’s DigitalBoost programme. Details of these webinars (taking place in February and March 2022) can be found on VisitScotland.org."
What’s on your Scotland bucket list, or is there anywhere you’ve recently explored in Scotland that you’d love to share?
"I’ve still to visit Coll and Tiree – hopefully one day. I’d also love to do the Cuillin Ridge Traverse on Skye at some point but need to improve my climbing/mountaineering skills a tad before attempting it. I love the mountains, beaches, seafood, and scenery of north west Scotland (essentially anywhere north of Kyle)."
More in the series
Want to find out more about some of the other members of our team? Get to know: