The Argyll and Isles Tourism Co-operative (AITC) has appointed Cathy Craig as its first chief executive.
She will be responsible for boosting visitor numbers to Argyll and the Isles, building upon the Wild About Argyll brand.
It comes in the same week the destination is awarded £350,000 from Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE) for a three-year project to rebuild following the pandemic.
HIE will be funding the role of the chief executive at AITC for three years.
Craig has more than 20 years’ experience in marketing and business development. She worked with AITC in recent years, following a four-year stint as volunteer director and has been on the board of VisitScotland for six years.
She was also a commercial and marketing director at CalMac and ScotRail, and most recently, spent four years as commercial director at Entrepreneurial Scotland.
Craig said: “My vision is to drive activity, which is not only recovery focussed, but opens up new opportunities for collaborative working across the region, resulting in positioning Argyll and the Isles as the ‘must visit’ destination.
“We can do this by building capability and capacity within our industry and underpinning that activity with financially sustainable funding.
"It’s imperative that we collectively shift our thinking and actions to responsible tourism; we must consider the needs of our industry and visitors and the impact on our environment and communities in all that we do going forward.”
Last month, AITC launched its new rail and trail product in partnership with ScotRail. Plans are also in place for a new cycling and water-based activities trail.
Iain Jurgensen, chair of the AITC, added: “Cathy's appointment underlines the ambition, mission and vision the board has for tourism in the region, positioning itself as Scotland's Adventure Coast - the board wishes her every success in this new and exciting role.”
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