Tourism is a vital industry, with the Scottish Government reporting that the sector contributed £4.8bn to the economy and supported 229,000 jobs in 2022 alone.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) measured a pre-Covid annual spend of £1.5bn in the region with 3,200 registered tourism businesses locally.
The development of digital technology brings new opportunities for innovation and expectations from visitors, with HIE identifying one of the ‘mega-trends’ impacting Scottish tourism being the use of technology to stimulate and inform.
Tourists are increasingly reliant on digital services to plan, manage and enjoy their trips. However, getting connected is still an issue, with many areas across the Highlands and Islands still without reliable fixed or mobile broadband.
There is a risk that some areas will be left behind if connectivity does not improve.
Scotland Outlook 2030, the national tourism strategy, highlights the role technology now plays in tourism and the need for businesses in every part of Scotland, particularly in rural areas, to be better connected.
The impact of not being connected is costly. Research by mobile network operator Three found that having good connectivity contributes to £3.4bn per year in new revenue for British tourist businesses.
Tourism is adapting to rapidly evolving technologies, with attractions and business embracing the changes to improve visitor experiences. Geo-tag and location-based services, virtual reality, augmented reality and social networking are all examples of technology and connectivity enhancing visitor experiences and services.
Connectivity is not just sharing experiences. Tourists use their mobile devices to store travel documents, access details of bookings and reservations, keep copies of ID documents, make digital payments and manage daily affairs such as online banking.
It is clear that being connected is a key priority for tourists. When planning a visit, almost two thirds of UK holiday goers say that having mobile coverage is important when booking a break, with a quarter of them unlikely to visit if they found reviews describing the area as having poor coverage.
Visit Scotland reports that tourists seek digitally integrated journeys from planning to execution. This trend of accessing information online and in-trip has led to the tourism body adopting a ‘digital first’ strategy towards promoting tourism in Scotland, resulting in the proposed closure of in person information centres later this year.
As tourism shifts towards being a digitally-led sector, businesses across the region are developing their offering. Examples include Venture North, which shares stories along parts of the North Coast 500 via an interactive ‘Tales & Legends’ map, allowing visitors to find out more about points of interest or attractions on the go.
Similarly, Historic Scotland’s app allows visitors to plan itineraries on which can be shared on social media, search for attractions, access an interactive map, use their digital membership card and buy tickets to venues, all from one app.
There are opportunities to use data insights into tourist behaviours leading to more efficiently and sustainably run businesses. To remain competitive as a tourist destination, there needs to be increased connectivity in the Highlands and Islands, as well as the infrastructure needed to deliver it.
Mobile infrastructure is being built and upgraded across the region as part of the Shared Rural Network, a £1bn programme to improve 4G coverage across the UK, helping people living, working and visiting rural areas benefit from all connectivity has to offer.
At the start of the programme, just 26% of the Highlands and Islands had coverage from all four mobile operators. This is forecast to increase to 68% – the biggest improvement across the UK. Similarly, 73% of the region’s landmass had coverage from at least one network, set to increase 91%.
Connectivity has a crucial role to play in attracting first time visitors to the region and helping them make the most of the experience so that they are keen to return in the future. The Shared Rural Network will help ensure areas with limited or no connectivity are accessible to all.
Bryn Jones is director of the Shared Rural Network at Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited (DMSL), a joint venture between EE, Virgin Media (O2), Three and Vodafone
This post was originally published on here
