There were a few raised eyebrows in March when former Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Liberal Democrat MP Lord Thurso was announced as the new Chair of VisitScotland. The surprise came from a couple of directions; from those who were impressed that an SNP government would appoint a Lib Dem to such an important role, and from those who wondered how being a member of the House of Lords and then the House of Commons (yes, in that order) could qualify him for the post. But as details of his pre-political life began to unfold, all became clear. The Right Honourable The Viscount Thurso has an impressive background working in the luxury tourism industry.
John Thurso at home
Last week I took a trip to meet John Thurso, to find out about his three year role in Scotland’s top tourism job. Before we talked politics (which, in spite of his recent appointment as Hereditary Peer for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, he is adamant he has retired from) he told me about his career in hospitality, and how this has shaped his plans for VisitScotland.
The appointment of a Chair who lives on the north coast has been widely welcomed by the local communities. There is a perception that through ‘living on the edge’ he will better understand the challenges faced by tourism businesses which are operating outwith the busy central belt.
The real challenges, he says, are to do with connectivity; not just a lack of decent broadband and Wi-Fi signal in rural parts of the country, but the vast numbers of holiday cottages and B&Bs that can’t currently be booked online. As a relatively recent embracer of modern technology he speaks with the zeal of the converted. A self-confessed luddite at heart, he was forced to learn quickly when appointed to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards as all the relevant papers were provided electronically via an iPad.
‘We need to reflect people’s changing habits’, he says. ‘Potential customers are likely to be surfing the internet at 11pm, and they’ll find a wonderful self-catering cottage in the middle of nowhere. But if they can’t check availability and make the booking there and then they’ll move on to something else. Our job at VisitScotland is to give people a little epiphany like I had, so they realise how amazing the technologies are and how easy it is to set up a bookings system online.’
So what exactly are John Thurso’s qualifications for Scotland’s top tourism job? After an education at Eton the young John Sinclair joined The Savoy Group as a management trainee in 1970, learning his craft in the kitchens, dining rooms, back offices and receptions of London’s top hotels. There followed a five year spell as the youngest manager of a five star hotel in Europe – The Lancaster Hotel in Paris – followed by a period transforming stately home Cliveden House into the highest rated hotel in the UK. Then there was ‘the best of the lot’ – the years turning around the fortunes of the Champneys Group, which was documented in a BBC documentary which famously showed him leaping naked from the steam room. From there a career in politics beckoned. The two are not (necessarily) connected.
Cliveden House
John’s philosophy is simple, and applies equally to five star hotels in capital cities as to small cafes and B&Bs across rural Scotland; it is that while it’s important to treat customers with courtesy and respect, it is equally important to treat staff the same way. He believes it is more important to recruit staff with personality and to train them in the skills you require, than to insisting upon previous experience. Providing good service should be a source of great pride – his mantra at Cliveden was ‘I am a professional servant and I am proud of it’. And while there is often room for improvement, he thinks that generally service in Scotland is improving all the time.
During his career at the high end of the tourism industry John Thurso came up with his own definition of luxury. In his book, it’s a combination of time, space and human contact, all of which are things which Scotland has in abundance. It might be time in a remote cottage to think, connect with nature or re-engage with our families. Space can be the wild open expanse of the Flow Country, or our own space in which to light the fire and read. And human contact can be as simple as a chat with the nice lady who gives you the keys to the cottage; the very opposite of the automated call systems and supermarket checkouts we are increasingly dealing with.
So even without his political connections, Lord Thurso seems to be more than qualified for the job. On top of his hands on experience he has a deep passion for Scotland, and especially his beloved Caithness. He is realistic about the challenges ahead, but optimistic that the talented teams at VisitScotland can realise his goal of encouraging more people to come to Scotland, more often, for longer, expanding the season and creating powerful economic growth which will create jobs. I hope he is right. I wish him every success.
This column first appeared in six SPP Group newspapers week ended 5th August 2016.
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