Tourism takes the spotlight in East Lothian

More than 90 tourism businesses from across East Lothian gathered at The Marine Hotel in North Berwick recently for the Visit East Lothian “East Lothian Talks Tourism” conference, held as part of Scottish Tourism Month 2025.

Hosted by Marc Crothall MBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, the half-day conference offered a valuable opportunity for local tourism professionals to hear the latest insights, data and strategic thinking driving the industry forward.

Speakers included Duncan Stewart of 56 Degree Insight, who shared key findings from the recent East Lothian visitor survey, and Richard Macdonald of Global Tourism Solutions, who explored the economic impact of tourism in the region.

Meaningful approaches to sustainability

Attendees were also inspired by Professor Xavier Font from the University of Surrey, who discussed meaningful approaches to sustainability, and Shaon Talukder, CEO of GeoTourist, who showcased digital storytelling to boost visitor engagement.

VisitScotland’s Neil Christison highlighted the ongoing collaboration between VisitScotland and Visit East Lothian and gave some examples of current partnership activity.

The event concluded with an insightful panel discussion and audience question and answer session.

The visitor economy is an important sector in East Lothian with the Scottish tourism economic impact modelling figures from 2024 showing it generated 2.98m visitor days, delivered an economic impact of £379 million and employed a workforce of 4626. The county’s destination, marketing and management organisation, Visit East Lothian is delivered by the council’s Economic Development Team and plays a key part in ensuring that tourism continues to thrive in East Lothian.