Inaugural Scottish Agritourism Board Announced
We’re delighted to announce Scottish Agritourism, the sector body for agritourism in Scotland, has appointed its first board. Riddell Graham, until recently Director of Industry and Destination Development with Visit Scotland, becomes the first Chairman of Scottish Agritourism.
Scottish Agritourism is a not-for-profit leadership organisation, formed in June 2020 after Covid galvanised the existing and well connected agritourism sector together in a formalised body, under the umbrella of the Scottish Tourism Alliance. Almost two years on, Scottish Agritourism has developed to represent 250 individual members across 140 businesses and from 1st April 2022 is operating as a stand-alone organisation.
The newly formed board of Scottish Agritourism is skill-based, with each director bringing specific knowledge to the table including marketing, sector development, commercial and financial experience.
The director appointments include two member representatives who have both served almost two years as destination leaders for Scottish Agritourism, and have been elected to the board by their leadership peer group. Kay Wilson, of Lennox of Lomond, Luss, is the 11th generation of her family to produce Scotch lamb and Scotch beef on their 5000 acre tenanted farm. Kay runs a glamping, self-catering and farm tour business with her family. The team at Lennox of Lomond has also been the Scottish Enterprise Agritourism Monitor Farmers over the past three years. Robert Wilson produces Scotch beef and cereals in the Scottish Borders and runs Wilsons Farm Kitchen with his wife Lucy, offering agritourism food and drink dining experiences.
Commenting on his appointment to chair, Riddell Graham, said: “The agritourism sector presents one of the main growth opportunities for both tourism and agriculture in the next ten years, with the ability to drive considerable social and economic benefits. Having worked closely with leaders in the sector during my time at Visit Scotland, I am looking forward to my new role as Chair of Scottish Agritourism.”
Sector Lead for Scottish Agritourism, Caroline Millar, adds: “We are very grateful to the Scottish Tourism Alliance for taking us under their umbrella over the past two years while we developed as a sector body in our own right. The establishment of the new board marks a milestone in our growth as an organisation and together with our fifteen destination leaders and our members we look forward to making a signification contribution to growing agritourism in Scotland to £250 million by 2030.”
More information about the members of the Scottish Agritourism Board can be found here.
Picture shows: L-R, Riddell Graham (Chair), Robert Wilson, Maggie Maguire, Kay Wilson, Karen Wilson, Caroline Millar, Fiona Campbell, Paul Jennings.