30th March 2025
Trudy Morris, CEO, Caithness Chamber of Commerce: ” The North Highlands beckon those in search of adventure, new experiences, opportunity, and purpose. Renowned for our breathtaking scenery, captivating archaeology, deep-rooted history and warm Highland welcome, this year’s Venture North Tourism Gathering at the outstanding Royal Marine Hotel in Brora was no exception. With an impressive turnout from local businesses and industry leaders, the event was as a fantastic showcase of the strength, ambition, and collaboration within our tourism and hospitality sector.
The day was packed with valuable insights. Marc Crothall from the Scottish Tourism Alliance gave us a key industry update, while Chris Taylor from Visit Scotland provided expert insights into national trends, visitor behaviours and opportunities. We also heard from North Highland Initiative, SCOTO, the Flow Country Partnership, and Brora Heritage—each bringing their own perspective on how we can shape the future of tourism in our region.
With Caithness Chamber of Commerce now incorporating the destination management organisation Venture North, the Chamber represents some 300 businesses, and we are taking bold steps to ensure the North Highlands remain not just a place to visit, but a place to call home – a thriving, vibrant region where businesses, communities, and individuals can flourish.
Caithness Chamber of Commerce Team at the Venture North Tourism Gathering 2025
At a time of economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever that our sector has strong leadership, strategic investment, and tailored business support. One of the key announcements of the day was the launch of our new holistic Destination Strategy—a forward-thinking blueprint to establish the North Highlands as a both destination of choice and a destination for living. Under the sister brands of Venture North and Live North, the strategy seeks to enhance the tourism offering, elevate the North Highlands as a world-class, sustainable tourism destination, increase visitor spend and longer stays and make the region a place to call home through a dedicated talent attraction and relocation support initiative.
One topic that remains a big concern for businesses is the proposed Highland Council Visitor Levy. At Caithness Chamber, alongside our Highland chambers of commerce colleagues (Cairngorm, Inverness and West Highland), we’ve been working hard on this—engaging with Highland Council, the Scottish Government, and local MPs to make sure our tourism sector’s voice is heard. Our commitment to advocacy is unwavering, and we’ll continue to push for policies that support rather than hinder our industry.
Whilst we spoke about these challenges and the work undertaken to-date, the Gathering was focussed on the future and the immense opportunities which exist in the region.
The North Highland Initiative and SCOTO led delegates in a workshop to review and discuss the emerging themes from its community led ‘Press Pause’ pilots across the Highlands. Delegates enthusiastically debated themes such as managing motorhomes, revenue generation for community initiatives and managing visitor expectations.
We heard from the Flow Country Partnership on their plans and aspirations for 2025 and beyond and saw clear opportunities emerge for creating authentic visitor experiences through business collaboration.
We were also joined during the day by our Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) North Highland team with students from Dornoch Academy, and Wick and Thurso High Schools, who gave delegates insight into their challenges as young people entering the world of work, and what businesses could do to help.
The day finished on an inspirational high with the Brora Heritage team taking us on a whistlestop tour of their immense achievements over the last 16 years when they were handed the keys of the old Clyne school building. With escalating costs due to several economic factors, the community organisation has raised a phenomenal sum of c£5.5m in 5 years. Due to open this summer, this fantastic facility, strategically positioned on the A9 at the north end of Brora, will house the community heritage centre, museum, retail area, café and a ‘WOW’ factor yet to be revealed. A real testament to what can be achieved through collaboration and leadership.
We are grateful for the support of our public sector partners NRS Dounreay, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and Visit Scotland. Our Venture North Tourism Gathering was a fantastic reminder of what we can achieve when we work together. The enthusiasm, engagement, and shared commitment to our region’s future were truly inspiring.”