An update on the closure of our iCentres

Changes to how we provide visitor information

As part of our strategy to grow the visitor economy, in March we announced changes to the way we would provide visitor information. This included a decision to close our iCentre network.

After considering a wide range of research and insights, which looked at how visitors plan and book their holidays, we found that most visitors plan all aspects of their holiday before they leave home, gaining inspiration from online sources or tour operators and travel agents. 

That means we have a much greater role to play in getting information to visitors at this earlier stage of their holiday planning. By doing this we can influence where, when, and how long they visit. 

Our new approach to visitor information sees us targeting the channels we know visitors use to maximise our reach and influence in our key markets, ensuring Scotland is a “must visit, must return” destination.  

Closure programme

All our iCentres will continue to operate until September, we will then deliver a two-phased closure programme with the expectation that all our iCentres will close by March 2026.

Phase one

After careful consideration of several factors including staffing, local arrangements, property commitments and stakeholder engagement, we can confirm the closure of the following iCentres over the next 12 months.

Phase two

Proposed dates for iCentres identified in phase two are as follows. It should be noted that final dates may be subject to change depending on local circumstances.

Learn more about our our future strategy, iCentre data and our approach to withdrawing from our owned and leased properties.

Adapting to change

Scotland’s tourism industry has a proven track record of embracing change. Post-COVID, our collective efforts resulted in strong recovery of international tourism. We have seen growth in international visitors with the number of visits (3.9 million) and spend (£3.5 billion) higher in 2023 than in 2019. Scotland is the only UK region to have reached this milestone.

 Together with businesses and our partners, we want to build on that success and ensure that across all areas of our work, we prioritise the activities that will deliver for our industry and for Scotland.

This includes adapting our approach to create the right opportunities and conditions for success for destinations, sectors, and businesses, ensuring an effective return on investment. 

We must ensure that we make the best use of the funds we have and by making some changes to the way we deliver our activities, we will be able to ensure we make the biggest impact to grow the value of the visitor economy. 

Should you have any further questions, please email us at customer.services@visitscotland.com.