Visit Moray Speyside chief executive ‘genuinely disappointed’ after failing to win second term in ballot

The chief executive of Visit Moray Speyside is “genuinely disappointed” after businesses voted against giving the organisation a second five-year mandate to promote tourism.

Gemma Cruickshank said she is “proud” of what Visit Moray Speyside (VMS) has achieved since is became Scotland’s second tourism BID in 2020.

However, the organisation’s tenure will end on March 31 after it was backed by 69 local firms, compared to the 203 votes against in a 42-day ballot of its members.

Had it won the ballot, VMS would have sought to increase tourism to one million visitors and £200 million of economic impact each year by 2027.

VMS said that visitor numbers have leapt by around a quarter during its five-year tenure.

Chief Executive Gemma Cruickshank said: “We cannot deny how genuinely disappointed we are not to be able to continue the momentum we have built over the next five years to help the area really unleash its full potential.

“I was honoured to lead VMS. We have worked tirelessly to benefit all our business members and this incredible region of Scotland as a whole and are really proud of the significant contribution we've made over the last five years.

“We've helped tourism skyrocket to become worth a record £187m a year to the local economy - and we believed this could grow to £200m by 2027.

On her role, Gemma added: “I made it a priority as CEO to take a collaborative approach, and to talk to as many businesses as possible, in person whenever I could, to listen to their concerns and priorities, and see how VMS could help.

“We often signposted them to helpful initiatives, and also made a point of being a voice for the region, for example with the proposed visitor levy. In addition, we felt we offered good value to levy payers.

“VMS was a small team, but we feel we made a big difference.

“I now hope to see the varied spectrum of collaborative, innovative, and resilient tourism businesses, and indeed the entire Moray Speyside region, continue to thrive.”

VMS had been planning to increase its membership from 366 to around 500 over the next five years.

The organisation was also planning to move to charging members a percentage of their rateable value rather than a flat fee dependent on business size.

Following the no vote, discussions are currently taking place on what will happen with the VMS assets.