Merger Creates Wildlife & Adventure Tourism Association

12th April 2011

Two scottish Industry groups Wild Scotland and Activity Scotland have merged to create the Wildlife and Adventure Tourism Association. They said the move would help them tap into a lucrative domestic travel market and increase revenue to £848 million a year by 2015. Outdoor travel in Scotland was worth £759m annually before the recession hit, they said. Europe has also been identified as a growing market for Scottish outdoor firms and the new group aims to promote Scotland as "Europe's number one wildlife watching destination" while pushing adventure sports and outdoor pursuits to a growing customer base. Ben Mardall, chairman of Wild Scotland – one of the two groups in the merger – said: "This is a logical move for both organisations. We are able to pool resources and leverage the synergy between Activity Scotland and Wild Scotland. In the current economic climate it is critical that we ensure the strongest possible foundation for our members. This move will allow us to represent Scotland far better on an international stage."

Source: Herald Scotland