More than half of VisitScotland hubs set to close

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Visit Scotland
Friday 13 October 2017 at 10:44am

Hawick hub will no longer be run by VisitScotland Credit: Google maps

More than half of VisitScotland hubs are set to close, affecting many in the Scottish Borders, the tourism agency has announced.

This comes as part of VisitScotland's plans to change its service that will see 39 out of 65 centres close across Scotland.

The service aims to leave 26 "high impact regional hubs" in their place.

The organisation says the decision reflects the decline in visitors to regional hubs and the increase in use of digital services.

Scottish Borders Council welcomes the new change, but MPs has raised concerns over the decision.

Kelso hub is set to close in the Scottish Borders and will be replaced with a regional hub.

Jedburgh and the Hawick hub will remain open but will be no longer operated by VisitScotland.

Scottish Borders Council said:

Rachael Hamilton MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire and Shadow Secretary for Culture and Tourism commented:

John Lamont MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk added:

South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said:

I am deeply saddened by this decision and in many ways it's the end of an era. You know when you go into a Tourist Information Centre you get a fantastic service from staff, with comprehensive, impartial advice. However, I appreciate that the way most people now access information has changed and the footfall figures speak for themselves, so no one will be surprised at this decision particularly given the squeeze on funding from the Government. Visitors access information continuously whether that's at their accommodation or at visitor attractions and of course online where more and more bookings are being made. That's no consolation for the staff who face losing their jobs and my thoughts are very much with them. I've spoken to VisitScotland to express my concern over the impact on staff and whilst they have given a commitment to no compulsory redundancies, clearly geography will make it challenging for staff to access new opportunities within the organisation. If you have family ties and other commitments , it's not easy to suddenly move to find employment. It’s therefore vital for VisitScotland to give as much support as possible for people to access not only opportunities within the organisation but to find other local employment opportunities."