Meaningful Travel with Scotland
VisitScotland plays a leading role in the development of Scotland as a sustainable tourism destination, working in collaboration with the Scottish tourism and events industry, key public and private partners, and local communities to create tourism practices which will help protect and preserve the natural and cultural assets that make Scotland so special.
With a focus on business and experience development, VisitScotland is driving meaningful tourism by increasing the discoverability and bookability of those tourism experiences where tourism care be a force for good, economically supporting social and environmental causes.
Scotland’s Meaningful Travel Map
The Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Map helps the travel trade and sustainably-minded travelers easily source organizations making positive social and environmental impacts in destinations. Discover vetted, sustainable offerings in Scotland that are ready to book for your next trip.
Watch: Sustainable Scotland Product Showcase Webinar
Responsibly Promoting and Selling Travel to Scotland
Scotland’s natural beauty, rich heritage, and vibrant communities make it a world-class destination - but with this comes the responsibility to protect and preserve it for future generations.
VisitScotland assesses success against a 4S Framework, which is designed to ensure the benefits of tourism and events reach across Scotland. VisitScotland encourages those promoting and selling travel to Scotland, to also consider this through the:
Spread of visitors and the inclusion of unique experiences found throughout the year and across regions and places of Scotland
Spend generated locally through extended stays and the inclusion of added-value experiences
Sustainability through personally enriching, authentic experiences for the visitor and opportunities to enable tourism to be a force for good for the host destination and communities
Satisfaction through personally enriching, authentic experiences for the visitor and opportunities to enable tourism to be a force for good for the host destination and communities
Explore VisitScotland’s travel trade resources designed to support you in weaving in meaningful travel experiences while visiting Scotland.
“Our vision is for Scotland to be one of the most economically, environmentally and socially sustainable destinations in the world. To achieve this, we inspire, engage and influence visitors to make sustainable choices at every stage of their journey, promoting lesser-known regions, seasonal experiences, and sustainable travel, products and activities.
“We are proud to be the first European destination to create a Meaningful Travel Map, recognising the importance of working with like‑minded partners such as Tourism Cares, as well as travel trade and Scottish tourism businesses, to share the unique, sustainable and authentic experiences Scotland has to offer.”
- Vicki Miller, VisitScotland Chief Executive
Thank You to Our Destination Partner
SPOTLIGHT: THE PEOPLE + PLACES OF TOURISM CARES
Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre | Tourism Cares Grantee
Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre was provided support on behalf of Globus Family of Brands to support ongoing mentorship, build capacity and foster resiliency for Indigenous community members through meaningful employment. The grant funds will also be used to develop a new guided tour called ANCIENT MEDICINES, enriching and connecting the cultural identity of the Indigenous Youth Ambassadors and Cultural Ambassadors the Centre works with.