Tourism strategic context The St Kilda Centre needs to be considered carefully in its tourism context. It will not exist in isolation, but will be part of an existing destination. Best practice in tourism management around the world is now focused on destinations, not sites, for the simple reason that tourism is wider than a single site or attraction, and communicating with visitors or shaping their experience requires stakeholders to work collaboratively at a destination scale. In the next phase of the project the St Kilda Centre needs to be particularly sophisticated in its relationships with the tourism sector, and to think about its role as a flagship part of a destination. The Outer Hebrides is the destination used currently, and it has an existing vision to achieve by 2020: be a destination of choice for a world class experience on “To and diverse chain of inter-connected islands on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean offering a vibrant activity, food, music, art, craft and Gaelic culture in an outstanding environmental setting and appealing to those who are seeking peace and tranquility and those looking for active adventure with a taste for a different way of life”. The mission for the Destination Management Partnership (DMO) is as follows: harness and focus the passion, energy and drive on the islands to “To do what we do better and by turning more of our unique, natural and cultural assets into high quality authentic experiences that will grow tourism sustainably - and in so doing help stimulate population growth and enhance economic performance.” The aim being: grow tourism in The Outer Hebrides from £53m to £64m-£67m “To by 2020 by increasing transport capacity/integration, lengthening the season, offering additional authentic experiences and appealing
Tourism strategic context The St Kilda Centre needs to be considered carefully in its tourism context. It will not exist in isolation, but will be part of an existing destination. Best practice in tourism management around the world is now focused on destinations, not sites, for the simple reason that tourism is wider than a single site or attraction, and communicating with visitors or shaping their experience requires stakeholders to work collaboratively at a destination scale. In the next phase of the project the St Kilda Centre needs to be particularly sophisticated in its relationships with the tourism sector, and to think about its role as a flagship part of a destination. The Outer Hebrides is the destination used currently, and it has an existing vision to achieve by 2020: “To be a destination of choice for a world class experience on and diverse chain of inter-connected islands on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean offering a vibrant activity, food, music, art, craft and Gaelic culture in an outstanding environmental setting and appealing to those who are seeking peace and tranquility and those looking for active adventure with a taste for a different way of life”. The mission for the Destination Management Partnership (DMO) is as follows: “To harness and focus the passion, energy and drive on the islands to do what we do better and by turning more of our unique, natural and cultural assets into high quality authentic experiences that will grow tourism sustainably - and in so doing help stimulate population growth and enhance economic performance.” The aim being: “To grow tourism in The Outer Hebrides from £53m to £64m-£67m by 2020 by increasing transport capacity/integration, lengthening the season, offering additional authentic experiences and appealing
ST%20KILDA%20CENTRE%20-%20A%20WORLD%20CLASS%20IDEA%20-%20JR%202015.docx